Turkey today urged France not to "make the same mistake" as the United States by sending troops to the Syrian town of Manbij, which Ankara has threatened to attack to dislodge Kurdish militia.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey would expand its offensive against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia to the town in north Syria.
Turkey's pro-government Yeni Safak daily reported that France had deployed 50 soldiers to Manbij to support the YPG, while state-run Anadolu news agency said 100 French special forces were deployed at five bases in YPG-controlled areas of Syria.
Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said officials were looking into the reports and indicated Turkey would inform Paris of its opposition "if this is found to be true".
He warned Paris: "Don't make the same mistake as America."