‘No patience left’: Turkey and US haven’t yet agreed on proposed Syria safe zone

New US proposals for a safe zone in northern Syria fall short of Turkey's wishes and Ankara is running out of patience, as Washington appears to be stalling on efforts to seal an agreement, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.

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

The militia has been the main US ally on the ground in Syria. Turkey has been infuriated by US support for the YPG, which Ankara considers a terrorist organization.

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. The US Embassy in Ankara said on Wednesday that the two states are committed to accelerated and concrete progress on the agreed roadmap for Manbij.