BALADI NEWS
Preparations by Turkey and the United States on a safe zone for refugees in northeastern Syria are on schedule, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Friday after previously accusing Washington of stalling.
The two NATO allies started joint land and air patrols along part of Syria’s border with Turkey. Ankara wants Washington to clear the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia from a 480-km-long (300-mile-long) border area, and Erdogan warned that Turkey would act unilaterally if the group was not removed.
U.S. support for the YPG, a key U.S. ally against Islamic State in Syria, has angered Turkey. Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist organization.
his return flight from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Erdogan was quoted by broadcaster NTV as saying, “Scheduled efforts are under way. As the schedule is moving along, all our preparations along the border are also complete.”
“Upon returning (to Turkey), we will hold evaluations ... on what sort of steps to take and implement them ... because Turkey is not a country that can be stalled,” he said.
At a briefing on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, U.S. Special envoy to Syria James Jeffrey told reporters that Washington was moving “faithfully and as rapidly” as possible, but warned against unilateral action in the region.
Source: Reuters.