Turkey’s Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday that talks with the US aimed at averting the need for a Turkish military intervention into northern Syria had been “positive,” according to state news agency Anadolu.
“We witnessed with satisfaction that our partners grew closer to our position. The meetings were positive and quite constructive,” Akar was quoted as saying as the talks in Ankara entered a third day.
Turkey has repeatedly warned that it is preparing an offensive into Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia, which it sees as a terrorist offshoot of the PKK which has fought a bloody insurgency inside Turkey for the past 35 years.
The US has supported the YPG as the main fighting force against the Daesh, and its defence officials have been meeting their Turkish counterparts in Ankara since Monday in a bid to prevent an intervention.
“We would prefer to act together with our American ally. If that isn’t possible we have said multiple times that we will do what is necessary,” Akar told Anadolu.
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