Defense & Intelligence Policy, Business and Technology

Turkey says will tell Tillerson it wants to mend trust with U.S.

Reuters: ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey will tell U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson the two countries must repair damaged mutual trust, its foreign minister said on Tuesday, following a series of disagreements, especially over the Syria crisis.

Relations between the NATO allies have been strained by U.S. support for the YPG Kurdish militia in Syria. Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist group, but it is a key component of U.S.-backed forces battling Islamic State in Syria.

Turkey is targeting the YPG in an air and ground operation in Syria’s northwest Afrin region launched two weeks ago. President Tayyip Erdogan has promised to sweep the militia from Turkey’s southern border, a move that could put Turkish troops in confrontation with U.S. forces on the ground in Syria.

Read article