US delegation, Turkish General Staff meeting concludes

ANKARA

A U.S. military delegation concluded a meeting with the Turkish General Staff over a planned safe zone in Syria, according to the Turkish National Defense Ministry on Tuesday.

The U.S. delegation, headed by Deputy Commander of U.S European Command Lt. Gen. Stephen M. Twitty and Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Bergeson, visited the headquarters of the General Staff, the ministry said in a statement.

The meeting will continue in the joint operations center in the Akcakale district of the southeastern Sanliurfa province.

On Aug. 7, Turkish and U.S. military officials agreed to set up a safe zone in northern Syria and develop a peace corridor to facilitate the movement of displaced Syrians who want to return home. They also agreed to establish a joint operations center.

The agreement also envisaged setting up necessary security measures to address Turkey's security concerns, including clearing the zone of the terrorist YPG/PKK, a group the U.S. has sometimes been allied with, over Turkey’s objections.