Turkey wants Syria ground operation, but says no consensus among allies

ANKARA - Turkey, Saudi Arabia and some European allies want a ground operation in Syria but there is no consensus in the coalition and a strategy for such an incursion has not been seriously debated, Turkey's foreign minister told Reuters.

"Some countries like us, Saudi Arabia and some other Western European countries have said that a ground operation is necessary ... But to expect this only from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar is neither right nor realistic," Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview in Ankara.

"If such an operation is to take place, it has to be carried out jointly, like the (coalition) air strikes," he said.

"The coalition has not given this ground operation issue serious debate. There were opponents, and there were those who weren't going to take part but expressed a desire for Turkey or another country doing it," he said.