Turkish defence minister visits Syrian border after military operation talks

Turkey's defence minister and  army leaders visited the Syrian border on Sunday to conduct an inspection of military units, according to reports.

Defence Minister Hulusi Akar inspected units deployed near the border in Turkey’s southern Hatay province, after revealing Ankara is in talks with Russia about using airspace over northern Syria, The New Arab’s Arabic-language service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

Military officials briefed Akar and military commanders on the latest situation at the border, according to Turkey's Anadolu Agency.

The visit came a day after Akar revealed to the press that Turkey is in talks with Moscow to use Syrian airspace for a potential cross-border operation against Syrian Kurdish militias.

Ankara has already carried out numerous incursions into northern Syria against Kurdish militia and has for months been threatening another military operation.

However, the country stepped up their preparations to enter the war-torn country last month after a deadly bomb attack in Istanbul, which it blamed on Kurdish militants.

However, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by the YPG, have all denied involvement in the bombing.

The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, said during a press conference in November that up to a million people could be displaced if the Turkish invasion into northern Syria goes ahead.

Abdi added that the group's operations against the Islamic State group (IS) "have been paused" because of the recent Turkish air strikes.

The US has expressed its disapproval of any military escalation in the region that could threaten the continuation of IS.

The Syrian conflict began in 2011 after pro-democracy protesters called for the end of the regime.

Turkey has since hosted millions of Syrian refugees fleeing regime assaults, hosted leading opposition figures, and backed rebel groups, some of which have taken part in Ankara-backed offensives inside Syria.

The mechanism would mark a major shift in relations between the two sides and follows recent contact between Syrian and Turkish intelligence leaders.