Turkey sends reinforcements to border with Syria

ANKARA - Turkey loaded tanks and armoured vehicles onto trucks on Saturday and dispatched the convoy to the Turkish province of Hatay on the Syrian border, the Demiroren news agency said.

It was the second day of reinforcements of the Turkish military presence on the border near the northern Syrian province of Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria.

On Friday, a Turkish security source said the Turkish army had been rotating forces in and out of the region, and declined to say whether the latest movement was in preparation for an operation inside Idlib province itself.

US President Donald Trump announced last month that he had decided to withdraw US troops from Syria. The decision injected new uncertainty into the eight-year-long Syrian war and spurred a flurry of contacts over how a resulting security vacuum will be filled across northern and eastern Syria where the US forces are stationed.

On the one hand, Turkey aims to pursue a campaign against Kurdish forces that have allied with the United States, and on the other the Russia- and Iran-backed Syrian government sees the chance to recover a huge chunk of territory.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday he was optimistic that a "good outcome" could be achieved that protects both Turkey and the Syrian Kurds, after speaking to Turkey's foreign minister.

"We recognize the Turkish people's right to defend their country from terrorists, but we also know that those ... who are not terrorists and fighting alongside us for all this time deserve to be protected," Pompeo told reporters.

"There are many details to be worked out but I am optimistic we can achieve a good outcome," he said.

Kurdish-led groups who control swathes of northern Syria fear an attack from Turkey in the wake of Trump's decision to withdraw. Turkey sees the Kurdish YPG militia so close to its border as a security threat. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to crush the group.

Speaking in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi as part of a regional tour, Pompeo also said the withdrawal of US troops from Syria is a "tactical change" and does not alter US military capacity to counter Islamic State and Iran.

Earlier on Saturday, the Turkish defence minister, chief of general staff and the intelligence agency head visited border military units and discussed "measures to establish peace and stability in the region," the ministry said in a statement.

"We are making every effort to preserve the ceasefire and stability in Idlib, in line with the Sochi agreement. Our close cooperation with Russia continues," Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said.

Akar's comments came a day after Russia said it remained committed to an agreement it had struck with Turkey to stabilise a de-escalation zone in Idlib, but said Moscow was worried by an increase in the number of ceasefire violations there.