The U.S. President Barack Obama will meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday in China on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit, with Syria high on the agenda, top aide Ben Rhodes announced Monday. In addition, President Erdoğan will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit as well. According to a statement released by the Kremlin, the two leaders will mainly discuss the latest developments in Syria and the normalization of the bilateral relations.
Speaking during the briefing, "We do not support Turkish forces moving south of Jarablus and engaging with SDF, and SDF should not engage Turkey in return" Rhodes said, referring to the ongoing clashes between Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters and PKK terror organization's Syrian wing People's Protection Units (YPG) dominated Syrian Democratic forces.
"Further action against the SDF would complicate efforts to have that united front against ISIL that we want," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters using an acronym for the Daesh terrorist group.
The Operation Euphrates Shield, Turkey's operation inside Syrian territory with main target being Daesh, has put Washington in a difficult position between its Kurdish partners and Ankara.
