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Bloomberg
US President Donald Trump and Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan spoke and agreed to continue to work toward stronger ties and regional security, Erdogan’s office said, a day after he lashed out at US authorities for indicting one of his ex-ministers.
Ties between the United States and its NATO ally have been strained by Washington’s support for the YPG Kurdish fighters in the battle against IS in Syria. Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist group.
Ankara has also been frustrated by what it sees as
Washington’s reluctance to extradite Fethullah Gulen. Turkey blames Gulen, who has lived in Pennsylvania since 1999, for last year’s failed coup.
“Noting the strategic partnership between Turkey and the United States, the two leaders emphasised the importance of continuing to work together to further strengthen bilateral relations and increase stability in the region,†the Turkish Presidency said in a statement.
The two leaders agreed to meet in New York at the United States General Assembly, scheduled for this month. The call was notable for its timing, coming a day after Erdogan described a US prosecutor’s indictment against Turkey’s former economy minister as being politically motivated and tantamount to an attack on Ankara.
The former minister, Zafer Caglayan, and the ex-head of a state-owned Turkish bank were charged this week with conspiring to violate Iran sanctions by illegally moving
hundreds of millions of dollars through the US financial
system on Tehran’s behalf.