By Will Conroy in Prague On the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration, it is clear the EU and Turkey must finally get serious about security cooperation. The argument was lately advanced in an assessment by Chatham House senior consulting fellow Galip Dalay.

The new administration’s first visit to Ankara comes amid an intensifying struggle for the partition of Syria between the states behind the overthrow of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by jihadists led by the al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

An official with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said on Thursday the militant group would agree to leave northeastern Syria if the U.S.-allied Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) maintains a significant joint leadership role there.

Syria will never allow its territory to be used as a staging ground for threats against Turkey, its top diplomat said Wednesday after talks in Ankara.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan highlighted that the new Syrian administration should address Kurdish militants, but Ankara would not hesitate to act against them if necessary. He acknowledged Russia's strategic decision not to support Assad and anticipated no issues with the U.

Turkey has offered military assistance and capacity-building support to the new Syrian military to combat “terrorist groups”, during an unprecedented visit by a high-level Syrian delegation led by the new Syrian foreign minister to Ankara on Wednesday.

Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad were allegedly communicating before rebels took over the Syrian government in December.

ANKARA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- A high-ranking Syrian delegation, led by interim Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, wrapped up a landmark visit to Türkiye this week, signaling a thaw in relations after more than a decade of estrangement.

The pro-Ankara groups succeeded in capturing Kurdish-held Manbij city and Tal Rifaat in northern Aleppo province, despite US-led efforts to establish a truce in the Manbij area. The fighting has continued since, with hundreds of people killed, mostly fighters.

President Tayyip Erdogan warned on Wednesday that Turkey had the power and ability to "crush" all terrorists in Syria, including Islamic State and Kurdish militants, while urging all countries to "take their hands off" Syria.

Syria's semi-autonomous Kurdish administration accused Turkey of killing four civilians in the Manbij area, where clashes have raged for weeks over control of a strategic dam.

Turkey threatened Tuesday to launch a military operation against Kurdish forces in Syria unless they accepted Ankara's conditions for a "bloodless" transition after the fall of strongman president Bashar al-Assad.