BREAKING NEWS

Turkey to delay planned operation in Syria, Erdogan says, welcoming U.S. troop withdrawal

ISTANBUL, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Turkey will delay a planned military operation in northeast Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday adding the campaign would start in the coming months, as he "cautiously" welcomed Washington's decision to withdraw its troops.

Erdogan made the comments at a speech in Istanbul. He has long criticized American policy in Syria, where Washington has backed the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist group and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).