Turkey says will tell Tillerson it wants to mend trust with US
ISTANBUL - Turkey will tell US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson the two countries must repair damaged mutual trust, its foreign minister said on Tuesday, following a series of disagreements, especially over the Syria crisis.
Relations between the NATO allies have been strained by US support for the YPG Kurdish militia in Syria. Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist group, but it is a key component of US-backed forces battling Islamic State in Syria.
Turkey is targeting the YPG in an air and ground operation in Syria's northwest Afrin region launched two weeks ago. President Tayyip Erdogan has promised to sweep the militia from Turkey's southern border, a move that could put Turkish troops in confrontation with US forces on the ground in Syria.
"Our trust is damaged. We have to mend our trust. The contacts between us are important," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told broadcaster TGRT Haber in an interview.
"When Tillerson comes we will share these ideas with him sincerely, we will share our expectations," he said.
Turkish media earlier reported that Tillerson and US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster would both visit Turkey in the near future. Cavusoglu did not say when they would visit.
