Turkey's President Erdogan says he will discuss Syria's Manbij with Trump

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump agreed to meet on the sidelines of this weekend’s G20 summit in Argentina, according to Turkish presidential sources.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina.

Turkey and other nations will address challenges faced by the global economy at this week’s G20 summit in Argentina, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday.

“We will determine the steps that we will take to eliminate the main risks to the world economy by evaluating the global economic outlook,” Erdogan said while speaking to journalists at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport before departing for Buenos Aires, where the two-day meeting will be held beginning Friday. 

Erdogan also said he would meet with his US counterpart on the sidelines of the summit.

“We will discuss [northern Syria’s] Manbij issue with US President Donald Trump in Argentina,” he said.

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Turkish and US troops began joint patrols in Manbij, northeast of the Aleppo Governorate in Syria, on November 1 as part of an agreement that focuses on the withdrawal of YPG militants from the city to stabilise the region.

The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK which is designated a terror group by Turkey, the US and the EU.

The PKK terror organisation has taken over 40,000 lives in its 40-year campaign.

The US has said the YPG is an “ally” in the fight against Daesh despite Turkey’s objections that one cannot use a terror group to fight another terror group.

Turkey has repeatedly cited evidence that the YPG is the different side of the same coin when it comes to the PKK terror organisation.

Ukraine on the cards

Sources said Erdogan also discussed having conversations earlier today with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko about a recent confrontation at sea between their countries.

On Sunday, Russia seized two Ukrainian navy ships and a navy tugboat along with 23 crew members off Crimea, accusing Kiev of illegally entering its waters and provoking a conflict.

It said the vessels had ignored calls to stop, sparking military action.

Russia intervened as the Ukrainian ships were relocating from the Black Sea port of Odessa to the port of Mariupol in the Sea of Azov.

Ukraine also accused Russian warships of opening fire on the ships and that the vessels were seized by Russia.

Russia and Ukraine have been at loggerheads since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea after a controversial referendum.

Turkey, as well as the UN General Assembly, viewed the annexation as illegal.

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