Turkey, US agree 'joint operation centre' for north Syria

Turkey and the United States have agreed to establish a joint operation centre to manage tensions between a US-backed Kurdish militia and Turkish forces in northern Syria, Ankara said Wednesday.

The announcement came after three days of tense negotiations with US officials hoping to forestall a Turkish attack on the Kurdish YPG group, which controls large swathes of northern Syria.

Turkey sees the YPG as a terrorist offshoot of the Kurdish PKK, which has fought a bloody insurgency inside its territory for the past 35 years.

The defence ministry said in a statement that Ankara had agreed with US officials to "implement without delay the first measures aimed at eliminating Turkey's concerns.

"In that framework, to quickly create in Turkey a joint operation center to coordinate and manage the implementation of the safe zone with the US." Ankara has stepped up threats in recent days to launch an offensive against the YPG.

That put the United States in a difficult position as a NATO ally ..