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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Turkey eyes new ties with US under Trump

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ISTANBUL: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced confidence on Friday that he and Donald Trump can open a “new page” in troubled Turkey-US ties when they meet next month, after discord over Syria and last year’s failed coup.


The May summit between Erdogan and Trump, their first face-to-face encounter as heads of state, is a chance to mend a relationship between two key Nato allies that was strained by a series of disputes under former president Barack Obama.


“I believe that we will open a new page with Trump in Turkey-US relations,” Erdogan told the Atlantic Council Istanbul summit ahead of the May 16 meeting in the United States.


Erdogan made clear he expected a turnaround from Trump on the use of the Syrian Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) as the chief US ally on the ground in Syria in the battle against IS militants.


“We expect our American friends to better understand the threats our country is facing and to show the solidarity that we need,” said Erdogan.


He said that “concrete support” given to the YPG by the United States in Syria was “harming the spirit of alliance and partnership”.


His comments came after Turkey this week bombed YPG positions in Syria, prompting American accusations the strikes were not properly coordinated.


There have also been three straight days of border clashes between the Turkish army and the YPG, the latest in the Ceylanpinar district of Turkey’s southern Sanliurfa province.


Eleven “terrorists” were killed, the Turkish army said.


Erdogan will visit the United States as part of a packed schedule of foreign trips in May that will include India, Russia and China.— AFP


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