Ankara, Feb 16 (Just News): The US and Turkey, whose forces are at loggerheads in northern Syria, have agreed to try to defuse the crisis.
The Nato allies said joint teams would meet shortly to work through their diplomatic differences, including a dispute over the city of Manbij.
Turkey has threatened to attack US-allied Kurdish forces in Manbij, whom they regard as terrorists.
Pro-Turkish forces are battling the militia in nearby Afrin, across Turkey's southern border with Syria.
The US also has soldiers in Manbij, which was taken from the Islamic State group (IS) by forces led by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in 2016.
Last week, a top US general said his forces would "respond aggressively" to any Turkish-backed attack on Manbij.
In response, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened the US with an "Ottoman slap" - a historical reference to a supposedly deadly blow.
Speaking at a joint news conference in the Turkish capital, Ankara, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu said working teams would tackle disputes which have led to heightened tensions between the two powers.
"Manbij is going to be given priority in our joint working effort," Mr Tillerson said.
The BBC's Mark Lowen in Ankara says there was, it seems, no breakthrough in these talks but an inching forward from what Mr Tillerson called a "crisis point" in US-Turkey relations.
The secretary of state said that while US "recognise[d] the legitimate right of Turkey to secure its borders" Turkey needed to "show restraint in its operations [in Afrin] to minimise casualties to civilians".
Mr Tillerson said he and Mr Cavusoglu agreed their countries' objectives for Syria were "precisely the same - there is no daylight between [them]".
(Justnews/ys/1750hr)
