Turkish presidential aide, US Syria envoy discuss Syria

By Ferdi Turkten

ANKARA (AA) - A Turkish presidential aide on Wednesday hosted the U.S. special envoy for Syria to discuss the situation there.

In the capital Ankara, Ibrahim Kalin and James Jeffrey -- also a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey -- discussed the latest developments in Syria at the presidential complex, according to presidential sources.

Among the topics they discussed were a planned safe zone, implementation of the Manbij roadmap, the fight against terrorist groups including Daesh and the PKK/YPG in Syria, including the area east of the Euphrates River, reaching a political solution in line with Syria's territorial integrity, Syria's reconstruction, and the Idlib agreement.

They discussed how establishing a safe zone would ease Turkey's security concerns and clear the region of terrorist groups, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The importance of maintaining cooperation in Syria and the principles of transparency were also reportedly emphasized.

Turkey has long opposed U.S. cooperation with the PKK/YPG against Daesh forces, saying that using one terror group to fight another makes no sense.