US delegation begins work at S. Turkey center to oversee Syria safe zone

A US delegation has arrived in Turkey’s southern province of Sanliurfa to start work on the establishment of a joint operations center to coordinate a planned safe zone in neighboring Syria, according to Turkish officials.

Washington and Ankara agreed last week to establish a center that would manage the zone in northern Syria, but no agreement has been announced on key details of the zone.

Work to establish the center has already begun and it is expected to become active in the coming days, the Turkish Defense Ministry tweeted on Monday. “A six-person US delegation has arrived in Sanliurfa with the purpose of preliminary preparation,” it said.

Turkey wants the safe zone to extend more than twice as far into Syrian territory as the US has proposed, Reuters said. The US and Turkey have been at odds over plans for northeastern Syria, where US allies on the ground include the Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara considers a terrorist group and enemy.