Diyar Güldoğan
January 23, 2018•Update: January 24, 2018
By Dildar Baykan and Nazli Yuzbasioglu
ANKARA
A high-level U.S. delegation on Tuesday discussed a number of issues, including Syria, with Turkish officials, according to a Turkish diplomatic source.
The Turkish group led by Deputy Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ahmet Muhtar Gun and the U.S. delegation headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary Jonathan Cohen met at the Foreign Ministry in the capital Ankara.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said the meeting lasted for four-and-a-half hours.
The U.S. delegation also attended a joint working group meeting on Syria, Iraq and the fight against terrorism at the Turkish General Staff.
The meeting came after Turkey on Saturday launched Operation Olive Branch to clear PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin, northwestern Syria.
According to the military, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkish borders and the region as well as protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty.
The U.S. has supported the PYD/PKK, considered by Ankara as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror organization that has waged war against the Turkish state. The terror campaign has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.
American support for the terror group has long vexed Ankara as Washington views the PYD/PKK-led umbrella group SDF as a "reliable partner" in its fight against Daesh and continues to provide it with arms and equipment in the face of strong objections by Turkey.
