Erdogan invites Trump to Turkey in 2019

'While nothing definite is being planned, the President is open to a potential meeting in the future,' the White House says of Turkey's invitation to Trump.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has invited US President Donald Trump to visit Turkey in 2019, a White House spokesman says.

"While nothing definite is being planned, the President is open to a potential meeting in the future," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.

The conflict in Syria following Trump's announcement of a US pullout, the fallout from the murder of a US-based Saudi journalist in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and Turkey's demand for the extradition of a Muslim cleric from the United States are among the main issues occupying the two NATO allies.

The Turkish presidency said Trump and Erdogan agreed during a phone call on Sunday to coordinate to prevent an authority vacuum from developing as the United States withdraws from Syria.

Erdogan welcomed Trump's abrupt decision last week to withdraw American troops from Syria, which has upended US policy in the region and would remove a source of friction between the two countries.

Washington has backed Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters while Turkey brands the group a terrorist organisation.

A senior US official said Trump had not discussed the pullout decision with Erdogan in advance.

US military officials will visit Turkey this week to discuss the details of the Syria pullout with their counterparts, an Erdogan spokesman said on Monday.


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2 min read
Published 25 December 2018 4:12pm
Source: AAP


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