ANKARA, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will proceed with its own plan of action if the Turkish soldiers do not take control of the safe zone in northeastern Syria soon, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Saturday.

"Turkey is running out of time and patience on the safe zone deal with the United States. It wants the safe zone to be built in east of Euphrates as soon as possible," Erdogan stressed at the graduation ceremony of Milli Savunma University in Istanbul.

"Three weeks later is the last chance," said the Turkish leader, referring to his scheduled meeting with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.

Turkey and the United States have been at odds over the northeastern Syria and the YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU.

However, the United States has allied itself with the YPG in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria.

On Aug. 7, Turkish and U.S. army officials agreed to set up a safe zone in northeastern Syria, which is expected to turn into a "peace corridor" stretching from the Euphrates River to the Iraqi border to facilitate the return of displaced Syrians living in Turkey to their home country and address Turkey's security concerns along the border.

Syria has been locked in a civil war since early 2011 that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced 10 million others, according to UN.