President Donald Trump will push Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at their upcoming meeting to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria, and will discuss Turkey’s military actions in the country, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday.
Trump will meet with Erdogan at the White House on Wednesday, where they will discuss Turkey’s “Operation Peace Spring,” the country’s ongoing military offensive in northeastern Syria. More than 200,000 people have been displaced by the conflict, in which Turkish-supported Islamist forces have allegedly committed war crimes.
“We will talk about what transpired there and how we can do our level best collectively to ensure the protection of all of those in Syria, not just the Kurds, but everyone in Syria,” Pompeo said after a speech to commemorate Veterans Day at South Carolina military college The Citadel, according to The Hill.
He added that the U.S. will continue to work with the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is the military organization of Syrian Kurdish, Arabs and Christians who were trained by the U.S. to fight the Islamic State.
“We’re still working with the SDF, the relationships are great. We have State Department officials on the ground with the SDF, even as we sit here today, working alongside them to continue the counter ISIS campaign," he said.
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