U.S., Turkey set talks to boost ties

Tillerson meets leaders as Syria, crackdown strain relations

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (right) and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hold a news conference Friday in Ankara, where both men said a “crisis” had been turned aside.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (right) and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hold a news conference Friday in Ankara, where both men said a “crisis” had been turned aside.

ANKARA, Turkey -- The United States and Turkey pulled back from the brink of crisis Friday, agreeing to normalize strained relations over Syria and other issues that had threatened the NATO allies' long-standing ties.

However, details of the rapprochement were vague as the two sides agreed in principle only to form working groups that will begin meeting within the month to examine points of contention and try to resolve them.

After talks in Ankara, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced the creation of new "mechanisms" to improve the relationship, starting with the question of American support for Kurdish rebels in northern Syria.

Those talks followed a lengthy meeting of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Cavusoglu and Tillerson late Thursday at which a broad range of disagreements were covered.

In addition to Syria, those included Ankara's complaints against a U.S.-based Turkish cleric whom Erdogan accuses of fomenting a failed 2016 coup, U.S. concerns about the state of Turkey's democracy, and opposition to Turkey's planned purchase of a Russian air defense system.

"We brought forward proposals on how we can address all of the critical issues that are standing between our countries," Tillerson said during a joint news conference with Cavusoglu. He said joint working groups would take up specific issues including troop deployments to address Turkish border security concerns before the middle of March.

Turkey is riled over Washington's support of the People's Protection Units -- the top U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State group. Turkey considers it a terrorist group linked to Kurdish rebels fighting inside Turkey.

Compounding the difficulties over Syria, ties had also been damaged by what Ankara perceives to be Washington's reluctance to extradite U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and by the trial in the United States of a banker accused of helping Iran evade sanctions.

For its part, Washington is angered by the detention of journalists and opposition figures, American citizens, and Turkish employees of U.S. consulates in Turkey on alleged terror charges.

"We find ourselves at a bit of a crisis point in the relationship," Tillerson said. But, he also stressed the long-standing nature of the relationship. "Ours is not an alliance of convenience," he said. "It is a time-tested alliance built on mutual respect. We're going to work together moving forward."

"Our relations were at a critical turning point," Cavusoglu said. "We were either going to correct this or it was going to take a turn for the worse."

Tillerson's visit came as anti-U.S. rhetoric from Turkish officials, including Erdogan and Cavusoglu, had spiked in recent days, with the president earlier this week suggesting that the Americans might be deserving of an "Ottoman slap," a reference to the Ottoman Empire's one-time might.

Such rhetoric was absent Friday, and U.S. officials expressed hope that it would not resurface in the days after Tillerson's visit, which followed a similar trip earlier this month by national security adviser H.R. McMaster.

Tillerson said the first working group would deal with the issue of the town of Manbij, which is held by the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia and where the United States has a military presence.

Turkey has long pressed the United States to ensure the People's Protection Units leave Manbij and has threatened to extend an offensive to drive Syrian Kurds from a border enclave to that region. U.S. officials said one idea to be considered is placing Turkish troops alongside American soldiers stationed in northern Syria to improve transparency.

Cavusoglu repeated that promises made by the previous U.S. administration about the People's Protection Units moving to the east of the Euphrates River were broken.

The U.S. considers the Syrian Kurdish fighters the most effective fighting force in the battle to defeat the Islamic State in Syria, and this week offered a budget plan that would send them the bulk of $550 million in new assistance.

Turkey's military campaign against Kurds in northern Syria has alarmed U.S. leaders who have watched as the fighting has sapped energy from the fight against remaining Islamic State strongholds.

Another matter discussed was Turkey's planned purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system that has drawn criticism from the U.S. and other NATO allies. In addition to concerns about the Turks buying a system that is not compatible with the alliance's equipment, Turkey could face sanctions under U.S. law passed last year to punish Russia if it goes ahead with the deal.

Tillerson said the intent of the legislation "was not to harm our friends and allies" but stressed that the administration would enforce provisions that call for sanctions against countries and firms that do business with certain Russian military producers. He said U.S. and Turkish experts would meet to discuss what the ramifications of the purchase would be.

Information for this article was contributed by Lorne Cook of The Associated Press.

A Section on 02/17/2018

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