Turkey's Erdogan says joint U.S.-Kurdish patrols near Syria border unacceptable
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a ceremony at a shipyard in Istanbul, Turkey November, 4 2018. Kayhan Ozer/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE.
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that U.S.-Kurdish joint patrols near the Turkish-Syrian border were unacceptable and he expected U.S. President Donald Trump to stop them.
Erdogan, set to meet Trump in Paris this weekend, told reporters he would discuss the patrols carried out by the United States and allied Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which would cause “serious negative developments” along the border.
The patrols began in northern Syria last week with the aim of averting clashes between Turkey and Washington’s Kurdish allies, but Turkey pressed on with a new threatened offensive nearby to crush the Kurds.
Reporting by Gulsen Solaker; Writing by Sarah Dadouch; Editing by Ece Toksabay and John Stonestreet
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