ANKARA, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Turkish government's demands for a no-fly zone and a buffer zone in areas bordering Iraq and Syria, two key conditions for further engagement with the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State (IS), have not been well received by most the country's partners and allies.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated the demands on Friday in Northeastern city Trabzon, saying that the fight against IS militants will fail unless ground offensive launched to complement air campaign.

He listed three conditions for Turkish involvement, namely the establishment of a buffer zone or safety zone; enforcing a no-fly zone over Syria to secure the opposition from Syrian regime's air assault; training and equipping moderate groups against the IS and regime forces.

However, the United States said it has never ruled out Turkey's buffer zone proposal, yet added that it is not considering to implement it at the moment.

"We're working with the Turks to identify and undertake actions that support our shared objectives in Syria and Iraq, and when they have ideas they raise them. And we're open to discussing this (buffer zone). We've never ruled it out. We're just not considering the implementation at this time," U.S. State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Wednesday.

She was toeing the line with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who said that the idea of a buffer zone should be thoroughly studied.

U.S., NATO SAY BUFFER NOT ON TABLE

Officials from the White House and U.S. defense department were not as diplomatic as the state department in ruling out buffer zone options for the moment.

"It (a buffer zone) is now not on the table as a military option that we're considering," said Rear Adm John Kirby, Pentagon 's press secretary.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest also told reporters on Wednesday that a buffer zone isn't under consideration.

Turkey's proposal is not a new idea and is not "on the front burner", Tony Blinken, U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser, said in London on Friday as well.

NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who paid a visit to Turkey this week, said on Friday a no-fly zone and safe zone in Syria are not part of present NATO discussions. Speaking to Turkish daily Today's Zaman on Friday, Stoltenberg said the safe zone issue is "not on the agenda of NATO."

Stoltenberg signaled that the military alliance is ready and willing to boost Turkish defenses including the deployment of additional Patriot long-range missile defense batteries in Turkish territory.

Striking a different tone, French President Francois Hollande's office said in a statement that it agreed with the idea of a buffer zone between Turkey and Syria to create a safe haven for displaced people.

"(President Hollande) insisted on the need to avoid massacres in the north of Syria. He gave his support to the idea proposed by Erdogan," read the statement.

TURKEY EYES ON OUSTING ASSAD FROM POWER

Turkey also insists on removing Syrian President Bashar al- Assad from power. Both Erdogan and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu ruled out any compromise with Assad and said both the IS and Assad must be targeted at the same time.

A buffer zone, protected by a no-fly zone, may strengthen opposition in Syria and may facilitate the ouster of Assad. That creates uneasiness among the U.S.-led coalition that is concerned over Russia's response.

"Erdogan's sheer inflexibility and unwillingness to admit that his Syria policy has failed are driving this country to war," Suat Kiniklioglu, Turkish foreign policy expert, said.

"Despite all sorts of difficulties, they (Turkish leaders) are still dreaming about a regime change in Syria that may potentially start a new regional war," Ihsan Yilmaz, professor from Turkey's Fatih University, said.

"Erdogan and Davutoglu keep insisting that the United States must make it a priority to topple the al-Assad regime, without realizing that Russia, Iran and al-Assad have capability to ignite terror inside Turkey," Yilmaz explained.

TURKEY TO TRAIN MODERATES

On Friday, the United States announced that Turkey decided to help train and equip the moderate opposition in Syria.

"Turkey has agreed to support train-and-equip efforts for the moderate Syrian opposition," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters in Washington.

"There will be a U.S. Defense Department planning team traveling to Ankara next week to continue planning that through military channels," she added.

The opposition parties in Turkey are divided in the support of the Turkish government in military engagement with Syria.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) is against Turkish parliamentary mandate authorizing government for broad military action in Iraq and Syria, which was approved a week ago.

The CHP instead offered a limited mandate that will allow Turkey to help Syrian Kurds in the town of Kobane or Ayn al-Arab near Turkish border that was attacked by IS militants.

Turkish nationalists endorsed the mandate but warned the government not to drag Turkish military into Syrian territory for adventurism.

Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party also voted against the war resolution, fearing that the government may use it to clamp down on Kurdish militants affiliated with the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) that is listed as terrorist organization in Turkey.

Emre Uslu, Turkish analyst, said Turkey should assume a different role in the coalition and should not be the backbone of the ground troops inside Syria.

He said fighting against the IS with ground troops will spark anti-Turkish sentiments among tribes and other Arab groups in Syria and Iraq.

Turkish military has dispatched tanks and heavy armored vehicles to provinces near the Syrian border on Friday while police and military units were beefed up in Turkey's southeastern and eastern provinces where mass protests over Kobane claimed lives of more than 30 people in a couple of days.

The entire civilian population of the Syrian border town of Kobane have fled to Turkey, and the only people remaining are Kurdish militants, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesman Besir Atalay told reporters.

"The number of Kurds who have come to Turkey since the events in Kobane is 185,000. The entire population of Kobane is 200,000," he said on Friday.

In the meantime, the military issued a statement on Friday saying that the Turkish troops came under fire from a group on the Syrian side of the Turkish-Syrian border on Friday.

Four people were also injured when another group marched in a military forbidden zone on the Turkish side of the border, the statement added.