U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in the Turkish capital of Ankara last night for meetings with the Turkish leadership, amid frayed relations between the two NATO-allies over a number of issues – with Washington’s support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara considers as a terrorist group, topping the list. Ahead of Tillerson’s scheduled visit, Ankara officials warned of possibly ending its decades-long alliance with Washington, unless the latter ensues in confidence building measures, primarily in aligning positions on issues that Turkey perceives as challenging its national security interests. Following a meeting last night with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a meeting this morning with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Secretary Tillerson announced that Washington recognizes Turkey’s legitimate right to secure its borders but called on Ankara to show restraint in its “Olive Branch Operation” in Syria’s northern Afrin region, and avoid actions that would escalate tension.
In a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Cavusoglu, Tillerson also expressed serious concerns about local U.S. employees at its missions in Turkey and called on Ankara to immediately release an imprisoned American pastor, as well as other U.S. nationals.
Turkish Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu indicated a joint agreement with Washington to work toward rapprochement, while noting that constructive discussions were ongoing on pursuing an aligned course of action in Syria, which would assure both the security interests of Turkey and the goals of the U.S.-led coalition in defeating the Islamic State.