By Daren Butler, Ece Toksabay and Umit Ozdal ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Talks aimed at ending a 40-year-old militant conflict have fostered peace hopes in Turkey but the precarious situation of Kurdish forces in Syria and uncertainty about Ankara's intentions have left many Kurds anxious about the path ahead.

Battles between Turkish-backed groups, supported by air strikes, and Kurdish-led forces killed 37 people on Thursday in Syria's northern Manbij region, a war monitor said.

The Turkish armed forces have been placed on full combat readiness due to the potential need for operations against Kurdish armed groups in Syria. This information was reported to the pro-government newspaper "Türkiye" by sources within the Turkish Ministry of Defence.

Turkey is working to ensure that Syria's transformation over the last month will not bring new instabilities to the region, President Tayyip Erdogan told the Iraqi Kurdish prime minister, Erdogan's office said on Tuesday.

The Turkish armed forces have been placed on full combat readiness due to the potential for operations against Kurdish armed groups in Syria. This information was provided to the pro-government newspaper "Türkiye" by sources within the Turkish Ministry of Defense.

The Turkish Armed Forces have been put on high combat readiness due to the possibility of conducting an operation against Kurdish armed groups in Syria. This information was relayed to the pro-government newspaper "Türkiye" by sources from the Turkish Ministry of Defense.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan threatened this week to launch attacks against Kurdish-led forces in northeastern Syria.