ANKARA, Turkey — Both France and Turkey have agreed to word on a "diplomatic road map" aimed at ending the seven-year Syrian civil war, the office of the French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement on Sunday.
Macron held a phone call with his Turkish counterpart on Saturday night in light of French concerns about the Turkish military operation against Kurdish fighters in Afrin, northwestern Syria.
"The two presidents agreed to work on a diplomatic road map for Syria in the coming weeks," the Elysee Palace said, AFP reported.
"To that end, discussions between France and Turkey, which both hope for a political solution overseen by the UN, will increase in the coming days."
Several rounds of talks under the watch of the United Nations have so far failed to bring an end to the civil war that has claimed the lives of nearly half a million people and displaced millions more both inside and outside the country.
The Russian-led Astana talks supported by Turkey and Iran, two countries who are allied to opposing sides in the civil war, have so far resulted in the creation of several deconfliction zones but fighting still continues between rebel groups on one hand and the Syrian regime supported by Russia and Iranian-backed militias.
Erdogan tried to reassure Macron that Turkey's recent operation in Afrin was aimed against "terror elements," state-run Anadolu reported, citing unnamed sources from the Turkish presidency.
Erdogan said Turkey does not have any design on any country's territory, it added.
In an interview last week with French newspaper Le Figaro, Macron said Turkey must limit its intervention to fighting terrorism and should respect Syria's sovereignty.
"If it turned out that this operation had to take another turn than an action to fight against a potential terror threat at the Turkish border, and that it was an invasion operation, at that moment, this operation would pose a real problem for us," said Macron.
Erdogan will arrive at the Vatican on Monday on a 24-hour visit to meet with Pope Francis and Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The visit will be the first presidential visit from Turkey to Vatican City after 59 years.
Turkey and its Free Syrian Army proxies began their assault on Afrin, a Kurdish canton in northwestern Syria, on January 20.
Since then, at least 68 civilians (including 21 children and 12 women) have been killed by Turkey and its forces' "shelling and bombardments," according to the UK-based conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Turkey has denied the targeting of civilians and claimed its incursion is accordance with international law and the defense of its borders.
Afrin, which has had no credible reports of an ISIS presence, is controlled by the Kurdish-led People's Protection Units (YPG).
Ankara conflates the YPG with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) a listed terrorist organization by Turkey and the European Union.
The YPG denies any organic links to the PKK, a political party that has waged an on-and-off, three-decade-long fight against the Turkish state seeking greater political and cultural rights for the country's minority groups.
Last updated at 7:14 p.m.
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