Turkey has the capacity to establish a "security zone" in Syria on its own but will not exclude the United States, Russia or others if they want to cooperate, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday, as Washington plans to withdraw troops from the war-torn country.
Turkey intends to set up a 32-kilometer zone that will keep the fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) away from its border.
The YPG is seen as an effective ground force by the US in the fight against ISIS but Turkey says it is linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara and Washington list as a terror group.
Cavusoglu told A-Haber television that nothing was yet certain about the planned safe zone, but that Ankara and Washington's views were in line, aside from a couple of points.
"We could establish a safe zone on our own but we will not exclude the US, Russia or others if they would like to cooperate," Cavusoglu said.
Speaking after Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Moscow on Wednesday, Cavusoglu said Ankara and Moscow were "on the same page" regarding a Syrian political solution aside from the issue of whether the head of the regime, Bashar al-Assad, should stay in office.
Turkey has been threatening for months to launch an offensive in northern Syria to drive out the US-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters.
However Ankara has put its plans on hold after US President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement in December to pull out its some 2,000 troops -- which was welcomed by the Turkish government.
Washington's request for guarantees for the safety of the YPG during the withdrawal remains an issue with Ankara fiercely rejecting any conditions.
Cavusoglu said the US special representative for Syria, Jim Jeffrey, will visit Ankara and hold talks with Turkish officials.
