Turkey has 'no patience left' with US on Syria safe zone

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday that new US proposals for a safe zone in northern Syria fall short and Turkey was running out of patience as Washington appears to be stalling in efforts to seal an agreement.

US special envoy for Syria James Jeffrey held talks in Ankara this week on the zone and other issues, including progress on a roadmap agreed last year for the northern town of Manbij to be cleared of the Kurdish YPG militia.

The militia has been the main US ally on the ground in Syria during Washington's fight against ISIS.

However, Turkey has been infuriated by US support for the YPG, which Ankara considers a terrorist organisation, and has repeatedly demanded that Washington cut its ties.

Following the US decision to withdraw from northern Syria, the NATO allies agreed to create the safe zone, which Turkey says should be controlled by its forces and also cleared of the YPG.

But at a news conference in Ankara on Wednesday, Cavusoglu said that the two countries had failed to agree on how deep the safe zone would be, who would control it and whether the YPG would be completely removed from the area.

"We got the impression that they want to enter a stalling process here as in Manbij," Cavusoglu said. "We need to reach an agreement regarding the safe zone as soon as possible because we have no patience left."