Erdoğan says up to 3 mln Syrian refugees can return to "safe zone" if it extended

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Monday that up to three million Syrian refugees can return to a planned "safe zone" in northern Syria if it is extended from Turkey's border to Deir al Zor and Raqqa, after talks with his Russian and Iranian counterparts.

Speaking at a news conference in Ankara after talks for a lasting truce in Syria with Russia's Vladimir Putin and Iran's Hassan Rouhani, Erdoğan said the summit had eliminated obstacles to the formation of a constitutional committee, adding that the committee would begin working soon.

YPG BIGGEST THREAT TO SYRIA'S FUTURE: ERDOĞAN
"The PKK, and its extension the YPG/PYD, is the biggest threat to Syria's future. As long as the PKK/PYD presence in the country continues, neither Syria nor our region can find peace," Erdoğan told reporters following the trilateral summit in Ankara.

Erdoğan said Ankara, Moscow, and Tehran stressed that supporting terrorists under the pretext of fighting Daesh is "unacceptable" -- likely referring to U.S. support for the YPG/PYD, which it has rationalized using that pretext.

He added that the leaders have the "same sensitivity" on the importance of protecting Syria's territorial integrity.

Erdoğan underlined that Turkey could not allow a terror corridor along its border with Syria, referring to the YPG/PYD presence there.