Photo taken on Oct. 13, 2019 from Turkey's Akcakale shows Turkish self-propelled artillery guns attacking Tal Abyad in northern Syria. Turkish Armed Forces have taken control of Tal Abyad and Ras Al-Ayn towns in northern Syria, Turkish Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar said on Monday. Photo:Xinhua

Turkey and Russia will discuss the removal of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia from the northern Syrian towns of Manbij and Kobani during talks in Sochi next week, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday.

Turkey paused its military offensive into northeastern Syria after President Tayyip Erdogan agreed on Thursday, in talks with US Vice President Mike Pence, a five-day ceasefire to allow the YPG to withdraw from a "safe zone" Ankara aims to establish near its border.

The truce is also aimed at easing a crisis triggered by US President Donald Trump's abrupt decision this month to withdraw all 1,000 US troops from northern Syria, a move criticized in Washington and elsewhere as a betrayal of Kurdish allies who had fought for years alongside US troops against Islamic State.

But Trump's move also means the extent of Turkey's ambitions in the region is likely to be determined by Russia and Iran, who both support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and are looking to fill the vacuum created by the US retreat.

Assad has already deployed his forces in territory formerly protected by Washington, invited by the Kurds. 

Erdogan,has said Turkey has no problem with Syrian government forces deploying near the border. 

Cavusoglu said urgent talks between Erdogan and Russia's Vladimir Putin would be held next week.