President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis in the Presidential Palace in Turkey’s capital on Wednesday.
Erdoğan and Mattis discussed the joint fight against terrorism, including against the Daesh and Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) terrorist groups, said presidential sources.
They also emphasized the importance of maintaining the territorial integrities of Iraq and Syria, describing Northern Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government’s (KRG) move for a non-binding referendum as a step in the wrong direction. Both Turkey and the U.S. have expressed concerns over the referendum.
Erdoğan conveyed Turkey’s disapproval of Washington’s support to the PKK-affiliated People’s Protection Units (YPG) terrorist group.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
The Turkish president said that the areas cleared of Daesh should be left to the locals, and emphasized the importance of supporting the mechanisms that aim to establish de-escalation zones in Syria.
Other items on the agenda during the meeting included the joint struggle to clear Iraq’s Qandil and Sinjar of PKK terrorists and cooperation in terms of the defense industry.
Erdoğan and Mattis underlined the strategic alliance of Ankara and Washington, and said that they were key NATO allies.
