Turkish, US agree to establish safe zone in northern Syria

ANKARA -- Turkey and the United States agreed to jointly establish a safe zone in northern Syria, the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

The talks between Turkish and the US military representatives have been completed on Wednesday, the statement said, and both side agreed to take measures as soon as possible to ease Turkey's concerns about its national security.

According to the statement, Turkey and the United States will establish a joint operations center in Turkey to manage the creation of a safe zone in northern Syria. It was not immediately clear how and when the zone would be created.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar also confirmed the result on Wednesday, phrasing the US move to care Turkish views in the talks.

According to local Daily Sabah, Turkey expects the creation of a 32-km safe zone in northern Syria and has stressed it wants the People's Protection Units "terror" group cleared in the region.

The US military delegation arrived in Ankara on Aug 4 to discuss the creation of a safe zone in northern Syria.