Kurdish officials said the talks would focus on "the situation of Kurds in Syria."

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Syria of allowing Kurdish rebels a free hand in the north of the conflict-torn country and warned that Ankara would not hesitate to strike.

And Davutoglu told Turkish television channel Kanal 7 on Sunday: "We will not allow the formation of a terrorist structuring near our border.

"We reserve every right... No matter if it is Al-Qaeda or the PKK, we would consider it a matter of national security and take every measure," he said.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) took up arms in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.

Turkish newspapers have published with alarm pictures of Kurdish flags flying from buildings in northern Syria and reported that parts of the region have fallen into the hands of the PKK's Syrian ally, the Democratic Union Party (PYD).