CRI听力:Turkey, U.S. to Sign Deal to Train Syrian Rebels

Turkey and the United States are expected to sign a deal this month to train and equip Syrian opposition fighters as part of efforts to battle Islamic State militants in Syria.

The training and equipping program is expected to launch in March, and simultaneously in Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The program aims to train a total of 15,000 Syrian opposition fighters over a three year period.

One third of them will be trained at a military base in the central Turkish city of Kirsehir.

A committee of Turkish and U.S. officials will decide on which Syrian opposition fighters to be trained.

Ankara and Washington have been in negotiation on how to respond to the crisis in Syria.

Turkey is reluctant to take robust measures and declined to be a fully-fledged part of the anti-IS coalition unless Washington agrees to adopt an "integrated strategy" that also targets the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power.

Washington is also pressing Ankara for the use of an airbase in southern Turkey for operational needs of anti-IS coalition members.