Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal
Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister on Wednesday headed to the U.S. for high level talks with officials, diplomatic sources said Friday.
Sedat Onal continues meetings with the U.S. officials, particularly with the U.S. State Department, on the bilateral relations and regional issues, especially Syria, said the Turkish sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on Thursday discussed bilateral issues, including the latest developments in Syria -- including Manbij and Idlib -- in a phone call.
Turkey’s president and his U.S. counterpart spoke about bilateral and regional issues in a phone call, Turkey's presidential press office said on Thursday.Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Donald Trump spoke on bilateral issues, including the latest developments in Syria -- including Manbij and Idlib -- according to a statement from the office.The call comes as Turkish and U.S. troops begin joint patrols in Manbij, Syria, under a pact meant to rid the area of the terrorist group YPG/PKK.Stressing their commitment to constructive steps to strengthen ties between their countries, the two leaders agreed to stay in close contact on bilateral and regional issues in the days to come.During the call, Erdogan also condemned Saturday's deadly synagogue attack in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, expressing his condolences to the victims' families and the American public.In the attack, at least 11 people were killed when a gunman opened fire during a ceremony at a synagogue in the state of Pennsylvania.Before the attack, the accused gunman expressed anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant views online.
Turkey's Erdoğan, Trump talk bilateral, regional issues
The phone call came after Turkish and U.S. troops began their first round of joint patrols in the northern Syrian city of Manbij, as part of a deal to rid the area of the YPG/PKK terrorist group.
The Manbij deal between Turkey and the U.S. focuses on the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from the city to stabilize the region, which is in the northeast of northern Syria's Aleppo province.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the death of some 40,000 people, including those of women and children. The YPG is its Syrian branch.