Turkish Presidency: Erdogan to Visit US in November at Trump’s Invitation

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the creation of a safe zone in northeastern Syria in a phone call on Sunday, the Turkish presidency said.

"Our president had a phone conversation with Donald Trump. In addition to issues related to bilateral ties, the sides exchanged opinions on the planned safe zone in northern Syria, east of the Euphrates River," the press release read.

In a phone call with Trump, Erdogan emphasized that the zone was needed to counter "terror threats" coming from the Kurdish PKK party and the Syrian Kurdish YPG forces, and would allow for the return of Syrian refugees.

Turkish President also expressed Turkey's unease with US military and security bureaucracies not doing what is required by the agreement between the two countries, the presidency said.

Erdogan has accepted Trump’s invitation to visit the United States as early as next month, his office said.

On Tuesday, Erdogan said that Turkey will create a safe zone in northern Syria itself if there is no progress in implementing the Ankara-Washington deal. He also added that foreign countries tried to use the burden of refugees to bring Turkey to its knees.