Turkey readies for action as U.S. talks on Syria safe zone struggle

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony of the Mor Efrem Syriac Orthodox Church in Istanbul, Turkey, August 3, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

ANKARA (Reuters) - Deep differences between Turkey and the United States over the scope and command of a planned "safe zone" in northeast Syria raise the prospect of Turkish military action unless the two countries break months of deadlock in talks this week.

Turkey has twice sent troops into northern Syria in the last three years and President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday a third incursion was imminent, targeting Kurdish-controlled territory east of the Euphrates river.