Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to discuss the situation in Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin after completing his visit to the U.S.
Erdogan made this known to reporters on Tuesday before leaving for a two-day visit to Washington for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Unfortunately, we cannot say that terrorists have left the security zone.
“There has been the latest terror attack in Qamishli. Terrorists remain in Manbij as well; we see them also in Tal Abyad.
“Neither the U.S. nor Russia have managed to clear them within the agreed deadline.
“We will discuss this in Washington. Then we will have a possibility to talk with Putin,” the Turkish leader said.
Turkey launched its operation in Syria’s north-east against the Kurdish militia, which it labels as terrorists, on Oct. 9.
On Oct. 17, Erdogan and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence agreed on a five-day ceasefire to allow the withdrawal of the Kurdish fighters from the safe zone.
As the ceasefire came to an end, Ankara and Moscow reached an agreement facilitating the Kurdish fighters’ pull back from the border area.
Turkey and Russia have since begun joint patrols along the border. (Sputnik/NAN)
