Ankara (AFP)
The Turkish-American "joint operations center" on Syria is now operating at "full capacity," Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday.
"The center of joint operations has begun to operate at full capacity," said the minister, quoted by state agency Anadolu.
He added that the first helicopter common flight was on Saturday afternoon.
His statement comes shortly after the Allied Kurdish militia of the United States, which Ankara considers to be "terrorist", said he was ready to cooperate in the "success" of the establishment of a "safe zone".
Under an agreement reached between Ankara and Washington after difficult negotiations, the "joint operations center" aims to coordinate the establishment of this "security zone" in northeastern Syria to to separate the Kurdish territories from Turkey.
Its introduction was proposed by the United States to dissuade Ankara from launching a new offensive against the People's Protection Units (YPG).
The militia, the spearhead of the Syrian Democratic Forces Arab-Kurdish Alliance (FDS), has been a key partner of Washington in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.
But it is considered by Ankara as an extension in Syria of the Workers Party of Kurdistan (PKK), classified "terrorist" by Turkey, but also the United States and the European Union.
Friday night, the US military command in the Middle East (Centcom) announced on its Twitter account that the SDS had destroyed Thursday some of their "military fortifications" at the border, photos in support.
The contours of the "safe zone" are currently fuzzy, and no timetable has been advanced for its implementation.
© 2019 AFP