US President Donald Trump discussed on Monday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the situation in Syria, while urging him against mistreating Kurds, who have been pivotal in Washington’s fight against ISIS in the war-torn country.
“The president expressed the desire to work together to address Turkey’s security concerns in northeast Syria while stressing the importance to the United States that Turkey does not mistreat the Kurds and other Syrian Democratic Forces with whom we have fought to defeat ISIS,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
The phone call came as the two NATO allies worked to iron out differences and discussed ongoing cooperation in Syria to defeat ISIS even as US forces began withdrawing from the country.
In a note on Twitter earlier, Trump threatened Turkey with economic devastation if it attacked a US-allied Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, comments that drew a sharp rebuke from Ankara and revived fears of a downturn in ties.
The White House said in a statement that Trump and Erdogan had discussed bilateral issues, including “ongoing cooperation in Syria as US forces begin to withdraw.”
US Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet with his Turkish counterpart on Tuesday to continue consultations, she said.
Turkey said the two discussed the establishment of a secure zone in northern Syria cleared of armed groups. They also emphasized the need to complete a roadmap regarding the Syrian border town of Manbij, the Turkish presidency said.
Relations between Washington and Ankara have been strained over US backing for the YPG, which Turkey views as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that is waging a decades-long insurgency on Turkish soil.
In wake of his threat earlier, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Trump should respect Washington’s alliance with Ankara.
“Mr @realDonaldTrump It is a fatal mistake to equate Syrian Kurds with the PKK, which is on the US terrorists list, and its Syria branch PYD/YPG,” spokesman Ibrahim Kalin wrote on Twitter.
“Terrorists can’t be your partners & allies. Turkey expects the US to honor our strategic partnership and doesn’t want it to be shadowed by terrorist propaganda,” he said on Monday.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that Trump’s threat against Ankara would not change plans to withdraw troops from Syria.
Speaking from Riyadh, he added that the US message on the Kurds has been straightforward and unchanged since Trump made the decision to withdraw the troops last month.
"The administration has been very consistent with respect to our requirement that the Turks not go after the Kurds in ways that are inappropriate," Pompeo said. "If they are terrorists, we're all about taking down extremists wherever we find them. I think the president's comments this morning are consistent with that."
Trump declared US forces had succeeded in their mission to defeat the ISIS group and were no longer needed in Syria.
However, US officials have given mixed messages since then. The US-led coalition said on Friday it had started the pullout but officials said later it involved only equipment, not troops.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara was not against the idea of a “secure zone” along the border, but added that strategic partners and allies should not communicate over social media.
“Nothing can be achieved by threatening Turkey economically. We need to look at how we can coordinate together and how we can solve this,” he said in a news conference with Luxembourg’s foreign minister.
