ANKARA, October 17./TASS/. One-on-one talks of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US Vice President Michael Pence ended in Ankara, sources from the presidential office told reporters.

Erdogan met with Mike Pence at the presidential palace in Ankara’s Bestepe neighborhood. The talks lasted more than an hour and a half.

There have been no statements following the talks as yet. They were expected to focus on Turkey’s operation in Syria.

The US delegation led by Pence arrived in Turkey to convince the Turkish leadership to stop its military operation codenamed Peace Spring in northern Syria. The delegation also includes Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and US Special Representative for Syria James Jeffrey.

On October 9, Ankara announced the launch of Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria, which began with airstrikes on Kurdish positions. The operation’s goal is to create a buffer zone along the Turkish border, where, according to Ankara, Syrian refugees residing in Turkey could return. SANA (Syrian Arab News Agency) slammed the operation as aggression. The international community condemned Ankara’s actions. On October 13, SANA reported that Damascus had sent troops to northern Syria to counter the Turkish army.