U.S Defense Secretary Mark Esper says Turkey’s offensive against Kurds in northeastern Syria was “unwarranted” and Ankara is “heading in the wrong direction” after its agreement with Russia to jointly patrol a “safe zone” in the region. “Turkey put us in a very terrible situation,” Esper said at the German Marshall Fund ahead of a […]
WHITE HOUSE – U.S. President Donald Trump expects a “successful meeting” Thursday in Ankara as his vice president and secretary of state push Turkey to halt its offensive in northeastern Syria. Meanwhile, Trump continues to reject that he is responsible for the operation meant to push Kurdish fighters from the border region. “If they […]
ISTANBUL – NATO is urging Turkey to exercise restraint in its incursion into northeastern Syria. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged Turkey’s legitimate security concerns about the Syrian Kurdish fighters, but warned that the offensive could “jeopardize” progress made against the Islamic State terror group. Stoltenberg spoke at a news conference in Istanbul with Turkish […]
Steve Herman at the White House, Carla Babb at the Pentagon and Nike Ching at the State Department contributed to this report. Turkish military officials say their troops are ready to launch a long-planned incursion into Syria to take out Kurdish forces branded by Ankara as terrorists, but viewed by much of the West as […]