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Tillerson Denies Syria Border Force
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Local Editor
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday the United States owes Turkey an explanation for saying it is supporting the creation of a border security force in northern Syria - a proposal that has drawn furious reaction from Ankara.
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Tillerson told reporters "that entire situation has been misportrayed, misdescribed, some people misspoke. We are not creating a border security force at all."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday vowed to "drown this army of terror before it is born." He warned US troops against coming between Turkish troops and the Kurdish forces in Syria that Ankara views as an extension of Turkey's own Kurdish insurgency.
The top US diplomat said he had a brief meeting Tuesday with his Turkish counterpart on the sidelines of a meeting of American allies in Canada on North Korea policy. He clarified America's intentions, which he said were to provide training to local elements in areas liberated from Daesh [the Arabic acronym for terrorist ‘ISIS/ISIL' group].
"We have [ISIS] still attacking in parts of northwest Syria and along the Euphrates valley, so this is just more training and trying to block [ISIS] from their escape routes," Tillerson told reporters on his flight back to Washington after making a speech on US policy on Syria at Stanford University in California.
Tillerson said of Turkey, "We understand why they reacted the way they did."
He said had spoken to War Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday to make sure they are on the same page.
Speaking earlier at Stanford, Tillerson indicated the US would address Turkey's concern about "PKK terrorists" - a reference to a Kurdish group inside Turkey.
The speech was used by Tillerson to signal a deeper American commitment to Syria. He indicated that US forces, currently numbering more than 2,000, would remain there for the foreseeable future.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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