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| Turkish FM Cavusoglu says Ankara and US agreed to normalize relations | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Washington and Ankara have agreed to improve bilateral relations which are at a “critical stage,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated following his meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. | Washington and Ankara have agreed to improve bilateral relations which are at a “critical stage,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated following his meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. |
| The Turkish foreign minister said that the US and Turkey agreed to establish mechanisms to tackle issues between two countries and hold a meeting by mid-March. | |
| Tillerson stressed that both countries have common objectives in Syria, where Turkey is currently carrying out a military operation against US-backed Kurdish militias. The secretary of state vowed to limit weapons supplies to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the backbone of which is formed by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which is outlawed in Turkey as a terrorist organization. | |
| Tillerson also said that their “first priority” is to address Manbij, which Turkey earlier threatened to target in its offensive in Syria. The city is controlled by Kurds and is used by the US military to support Kurdish operations against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). | |
| Ankara now wants Washington to give guarantees over the border force in Syria’s Manbij, according to Cavusoglu. | |
| The US earlier announced plans to create a 30,000-strong security border force in Syria, half of which would be recruited from the SDF. The decision infuriated Ankara, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowing to return the city to its “true owners.” | |
| Tillerson called on Turkey to show restraint in its Operation Olive Branch in Afrin and avoid escalating tensions, stressing that the US recognizes Turkey’s legitimate right to secure its borders. |