NORTH KURDISTAN (TURKEY) – MESOP NEWS : TILLERSON SPOKE WITH CAVUSOGLU WITHOUT TRANSLATOR

 MESOP NEWS 1 HOUR AGO: Erdogan ‘clearly’ told Tillerson of Turkey’s expectations

By Rudaw 1 hour ago  – 16. Febr 2018

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The United States is trying to salvage its relationship with Turkey and de-escalate the conflict in northern Syria. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson kicked off a two-day trip to Turkey with a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that lasted over three hours Thursday evening. “Turkey’s expectations and priorities on these issues were clearly communicated,” read a brief Turkish statement after the meeting.

Ankara is irate over the United States’ continued support for Syrian Kurdish forces in the war against ISIS. Tillerson and Erdogan were expected to discuss proposals to improve cooperation in northern Syria.

A US statement tried to give a positive spin, describing the meeting as “a productive and open conversation about a mutually beneficial way forward in the US-Turkey relationship.”

Ankara considers America’s Kurdish YPG allies a branch of the PKK, a named terror organization. The Kurdish force denies the charge. As Tillerson arrived in the country, Turkey’s state media was detailing how America “lost Turkey’s trust.”

Tillerson went into the meeting without a translator or aides, instead relying on Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Tillerson has met Erdogan before “and he’s okay with the foreign minister doing the translation. They have a good, strong working relationship,” a State Department official told CNN.The top American diplomat declined to give details to reporters after the meeting, saying they are “still working.” He will meet with Cavusoglu on Friday, after which the two are scheduled to give a joint press conference.

The relationship between Turkey and the US was summed up by Defense Secretary James Mattis in Brussels this week: “I believe we are finding common ground and there are areas of uncommon ground where sometimes war just gives you bad alternatives to choose from.”

Turkey launched its Operation Olive Branch against the YPG in Afrin, northern Syria on January 20. www.mesop.de