ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday told visiting Pentagon chief Jim Mattis of Turkey’s uneasiness over Washington arming a Syrian Kurdish militia viewed as a terror group by Ankara, a policy which has strained ties between the Nato allies.
Mattis arrived for the one-day visit after stopping in Iraq to review progress in the campaign against the IS group, urging coalition partners to prevent other political issues from disrupting the growing momentum against the militants.
He met with Erdogan at the presidential palace after talks with Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli in Ankara. Turkish spy chief Hakan Fidan also took part in the meeting with Erdogan.
Turkey, an important Nato ally of the United States and part of the coalition fighting the IS militants, is incensed that Washington has been arming the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in
the assault on the militants’ stronghold of Raqa, in northern Syria. — AFP
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