08 January 2019•Update: 08 January 2019
By Aynur Ekiz
ANKARA
Senior delegations from the U.S. and Turkey discussed recent developments in Syria and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) in a closed-door meeting in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Tuesday.
Senior military, intelligence and diplomatic officials took part on both sides, led by Turkey’s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin and U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, respectively.
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford and Special Envoy for Syria James Jeffrey also took part in the talks at the Presidential Complex which lasted roughly two hours.
In a surprising move, U.S. President Donald Trump last month announced the withdrawal of American forces from Syria.
Trump made the decision during a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which the two leaders agreed on the need for more effective coordination over the civil war-torn country.
U.S. troops in Syria have been cooperating with the terrorist YPG/PKK to fight Daesh, against Turkey’s objections that using one terror group to fight another is illogical.
In its 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the terrorist PKK has taken some 40,000 lives, including women and children. The YPG/PKK is the PKK's Syrian branch.
The FETO terror group was also among the topics expected to be discussed. Efforts to extradite Fetullah Gulen, its U.S.-based leader, and other FETO members are among the issues to be raised in the meetings.
Last week, Turkish and U.S. officials met in Ankara to discuss efforts against FETO, including the terror group’s so-called civilian imams.
Reporting by Aynur Ekiz:Writing by Ahmet Salih Alacaci
