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Trump, Erdogan discuss Syria cooperation in first presidential call

In their first call since Donald Trump became president, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pushed for an end to the US alliance with the Kurdish People's Protection Units.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - DECEMBER 12: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits the blast site outside the Besiktas FC's Vodafone Arena Stadium on December 12, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. At least 44 people were killed and 160 other wounded in twin explosions outside Vodafone Arena Stadium and in nearby Macka Park a few hours after the night's soccer match on 10 December. The bombs apparently targeted police officers who were securing the match. The Kurdish nationalist group Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), which

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeated calls for the United States to ditch its alliance with a Syrian Kurdish-dominated militia in its battle against the Islamic State (IS).

In a late night phone call Feb. 7 with Donald Trump, Erdogan drew attention to the close ties between the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan Workers Party, the group that is fighting for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey and is on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations.

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