Syrian Kurdish-led forces controlling most of northeast Syria have said they could cooperate with the Assad regime if Turkey follows through on its threats to attack its areas.
The military council of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) met on Tuesday to discuss recent developments in north and east Syria in light of repeated Turkish threats of an invasion, the US-backed armed group said in a statement.
The meeting "confirmed the SDF's readiness to coordinate with the forces of the Damascus government to thwart any potential Turkish attack and protect Syrian territories", the statement read.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week that his forces were planning for strikes on the Tal Rifaat and Manbij areas of northern Syria had reached a new stage.
Turkey has backed former rebel groups with armour, weaponry and air strikes, which control much of northern Syria.
Ankara has accused Kurdish forces in northeast Syria of having ties to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has fought a bloody war with Turkish forces for decades.
Turkey last conducted a large-scale operation against Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria in October 2019.
The invasion, dubbed Operation Peace Spring by Ankara, killed scores of civilians and injured hundreds. It also displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
The operation ended weeks later when Turkey and the SDF reached ceasefire agreements.
The SDF said on Tuesday that it was "committed to de-escalation agreements", but ready "to protect the region and its population against any potential attacks with a protracted war".
The SDF has cooperated with regime forces against Turkey and Ankara-backed proxies before - but the two sides have also had deadly standoffs, particularly in and around the cities of Aleppo and Qamishli.