Turkish, US military chiefs discuss Syria safe zone

Turkey's chief of general staff and his US counterpart discussed a safe zone in Syria along Turkey’s border on the sidelines of a NATO conference in Slovenia, the Turkish Defence Ministry said Saturday.

Yasar Guler and Joseph Dunford held a bilateral meeting in Slovenia's capital Ljubljana where a two-day NATO Military Committee Conference is being held until September 15, the ministry said in a statement.

The Turkish military chief shared Turkey's expectations for the safe zone east of the Euphrates in Syria, a recent hot topic between the US and Turkey.

On August 7, Turkish and US military officials agreed to set up a safe zone in northern Syria and develop a peace corridor to facilitate the movement of displaced Syrians who want to return home. 

They also agreed to establish a joint operations centre.

Ankara attaches great importance to the safe zone in terms of its fight against YPG/PKK terror groups.

The agreement also envisaged setting up necessary security measures to address Turkey's security concerns, including clearing the zone of the terrorist YPG/PKK, a group the US has sometimes been allied with, despite Turkey’s objections.

Guler and Dunford also discussed some NATO security issues, the ministry added.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women and children. The YPG is the group's Syrian branch.