Turkey says Syria should be given chance to address Kurdish militant presence

ISTANBUL, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday that the new Syrian administration should be given an opportunity to address the presence of Kurdish militants in the country, but reiterated that Ankara would act against them otherwise.

Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul, Fidan said it was wrong to classify Turkey's battle against Kurdish militants as a battle against Kurds, adding Ankara was now evaluating its presence in Syria in light of the new situation there.

He said Russia had taken a very rational decision when it cut support for ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and that it could have militarily supported him in stopping the rebels' advance.

He added that he did not expect any problems with the United States in counter-terrorism in Syria despite its support for groups that Ankara views as terrorists.

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler)

((tuvan.gumrukcu@tr.com; @tuvangumrukcu; Reuters Messaging: tuvan.gumrukcu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))