US officials said on Thursday that the United States seeks to avoid clashes between the Turkish troops and Syrian Kurdish forces in northern Syria.

“We’ve paved the way this week for joint talks with Turkey, Democratic Forces of Syria and other partners in the coalition in order to promote a de-escalation in the region,” a spokesman for the US-led international coalition, John Dorian, said.

“We are trying to ensure maintaining a dialogue that makes everyone focused on the fight against ISIL,” he explained, in reference to the so-called ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ terrorist group.

According to Dorian, the many Syrian democratic forces now are “45 thousand combatants,” including “13 thousand Arabs.”

The US official also added that “what worries Syria’s democratic forces the most is that the Turks are threatening to attack them from behind, that’s what made them hesitant to progress toward Raqqah, the main stronghold for the ISIL group in Syria, the next big objective of the alliance in the country.”

Source: Al-Manar Website