Washington will prevent any unilateral Turkish operation in the eastern Euphrates regions of Syria

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper warned that Turkey would launch a unilateral military operation in the eastern Euphrates region of northern Syria and said Washington would prevent any unilateral Turkish incursion into Syria that would affect the common interests of the United States, Turkey and Syria's democratic forces, Kurdish people in areas in the Syrian north.

The US comments came as talks between a US military delegation and Turkish officials in Ankara continued to reach agreement on a safe zone in the Syrian north of the Euphrates.

"We have no intention of abandoning them," he told reporters accompanying him on a visit to Japan.

He pointed out that any unilateral Turkish operation would be "unacceptable" and pledged to speed up talks to prevent such action. He expressed the hope that an agreement with Ankara would be reached.

Continued talks
For its part, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Tuesday that talks on the safe area planned for northern Syria with US military officials continued in the capital Ankara since morning.

Ankara has stressed on several occasions that it will have to establish a safe area in northern Syria, in the absence of an understanding with the United States in this regard.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Sunday that his country would conduct an operation east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria, in an area controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Units. He explained that his country had informed Russia and the United States about the expected operation.

"We have carried out operations in Afrin, Tripoli and al-Bab (Aleppo) and now we will carry out the operation east of the Euphrates River in Syria," he said.

On July 22, Turkey threatened to carry out a military operation against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units if a safe area was not established in northern Syria and if threats to its security continued.

Turkey has repeatedly pointed to the implementation of a military operation against the Syrian Kurdish insurgents in the east of the Euphrates after the extraction of the city of Afrin, west of the countryside of Aleppo, north-west, during Operation "olive branch," which ended the spring of 2018.

But Washington has warned Ankara of the consequences of an attack on Kurdish units currently stationed in the city of Manbaj in the eastern suburb of Aleppo (west of the Euphrates). It also controls vast areas east of the river.

Before the "olive branch" Turkey launched the "Euphrates Shield" in August 2016 against those it describes as Kurdish terrorists in northern Syria.

Syria is seeking to protect it from security threats. It is part of efforts to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis, beginning with stopping the war and providing the necessary conditions for the return of the refugees.

Stumble and leaks
Al-Jazeera correspondent in Istanbul Amer Lafi said the US statements, according to Turkish analyzes, may be evidence of the failure of the ongoing US-Turkish talks in Ankara, while others see them as part of the pressure.

Although there is no official statement on the progress of the talks in Ankara, the leaks - according to Al Jazeera - point to a US proposal to reduce the depth and length of the safe area in northern Syria, to be between 14 and 15 kilometers, but the Turks want it thirty kilometers, In addition to destroying the fortifications of those units in the area.

Washington is also trying to convince Ankara that Syrian Kurdish units will sever their relations with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey classifies as a terrorist, but the Turks reject this proposal because of the intertwined relations between the PKK and the Kurdish units.