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US-Turkey joint operations center buys time for Syria safe zone talks

Following an agreement to establish a "peace corridor" in northeast Syria, American and Turkish officials are creating a joint command center to work out details and oversight protocols.
A Syrian Kurd walks during a protest and sit-in against Turkey, in the town of Ras al-Ain in Syria's Hasakeh province near the Turkish border on August 9, 2019, with the flags of Turkey seen across the border in the background. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)        (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

A US delegation arrived in Turkey Monday to set up a joint operations center that will oversee the establishment of a so-called safe zone in Syria. The move follows a recent agreement between US and Turkish officials to address Ankara’s security concerns along its southern border.

Though details of the peace corridor’s size and management protocols remain undetermined, the command center is expected to serve as a conduit for negotiations shaping the future of a region that has long been a friction point in US-Turkish relations.

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