Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaks during a news conference with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi in Amman, Jordan February 19, 2018. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

ANKARA (Reuters) - Syrian government forces have yet to enter the Afrin region and it was unclear if they would, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Mevlut Cavusoglu made the comment in an interview with broadcaster Kanal 24. Syrian state media said on Monday morning that pro-government militia would enter Afrin “within hours” but by sunset there were no signs of a deployment there.

Turkey has said it would confront Syrian government forces if they entered the northwestern Afrin region to help the Kurdish YPG militia. Turkey launched an offensive in Afrin last month to sweep the YPG from its southern border.