Turkey says military operation in Syria not dependent on U.S. pull-out

ANKARA (Reuters) - A military operation against the Kurdish YPG militia, which Turkey has pledged to carry out in northern Syria, is not dependent on a U.S. pull-out from the region, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

In an interview with broadcaster NTV, Cavusoglu said it was not realistic to expect the United States to collect fully weapons it gave to its YPG ally, which Ankara views as a terrorist group.

(Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Daren Butler)