Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Jordan will join forces to fight the remnants of the so-called Islamic State in Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday, stressing that it was a move that would allow the United States (US) to "cut ties with Kurdish militants in that country."
Turkey opposes Washington's cooperation with Kurdish-led forces in Syria.
Ankara claims that the People's Protection Units (YPG) are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been waging war against Turkey since 1984 and is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the European Union (EU).
The US currently has about 2.000 troops in northeastern Syria. The YPG, which leads the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, has played a central role in the fight against Islamic State militants, alongside US special forces, and is now holding thousands of the group's prisoners in northeastern Syria.
Fidan, who spoke at a news conference in Doha, Qatar, alongside Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said the new Syrian government had indicated it would take responsibility for Islamic State prisoners.
Turkey wants US President Donald Trump to back away from supporting Kurdish fighters, whom Ankara considers terrorists due to their links to the PKK.
Since November, Turkish-backed fighters have been attacking Kurdish forces, capturing a number of towns. Meanwhile, the Turkish military has continued to press Kurdish fighters in both Syria and northern Iraq.
The Defense Ministry announced on February 2 that Turkish troops had killed 23 "PKK/IPG terrorists" in northern Syria.
Ankara has demanded that the Syrian Democratic Forces be purged of PKK-linked elements and absorbed into the future Syrian army.
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