Trump, Erdogan discuss northern Syria - Turkish presidency

 

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, October 30, 2018. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS

 

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed Manbij and Idlib in northern Syria in a call on Thursday and stressed their determination to strengthen ties, Erdogan's office said.

 

Turkish and U.S. forces began joint patrols on Thursday in the Manbij region, a source of friction in recent years after Kurdish forces took part of the area in a U.S.-backed offensive to drive out Islamic State in 2016.

 

"Our President and U.S. President Trump stressed their determination to take constructive steps towards strengthening U.S.-Turkey bilateral relations further," the statement said, while also referring to developments in Syria's Idlib region.

 

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders confirmed the call, saying the two leaders discussed a desire to work together, especially regarding Syria.

 

Turkey, which has long backed rebels seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Russia, Assad's principal foreign ally, brokered a deal in September to create a demilitarized zone in Idlib.

 

U.S.-Turkish relations have been strained by disputes over Syria, Iran and Ankara's planned purchase of Russian military equipment. Prospects of improving ties rose last month after a Turkish court freed a U.S. pastor from two years of detention.

 

(Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz and Ezgi Erkoyun; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington; Writing by Sarah Dadouch and Makini Brice; Editing by Richard Balmforth and James Dalgleish)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-11-02

 

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Prospects of improving ties rose last month after a Turkish court freed a U.S. pastor from two years of detention.

Or.... prospects of improving ties rose last month, after Turkish authorities caught trumps mates from Saudi Arabia, murdering khashoggi.

9 hours ago, webfact said:

"Our President and U.S. President Trump stressed their determination to take constructive steps towards strengthening U.S.-Turkey bilateral relations further,"

Thank you General Mattis.

It's incredible the number of threads related to Trump!

 

Trump had to talk to Erdogan after last week meeting including Putin, Merkel and Macron, but not Trump!

 

A face saving call bringing nothing concrete, but looking good.

 

What the Americans don't explain is why they are concerned with Idlib in the first place???

 

Don't they have enough on their plate to deal with closer to home?