Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call overnight to act together regarding the Islamic State-controlled Syrian towns of al-Bab and Raqqa, Turkish presidential sources said on Wednesday.
They also said Erdoğan had urged the United States not to support the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of U.S.-backed militias, started a new phase of its campaign against Islamic State in Raqqa on Saturday. Turkey has repeatedly said it wants to be part of the operation to retake Raqqa but does not want the YPG, which is part of the SDF alliance, to be involved.
FOREIGN MINISTER: WE CAN PUT OUR SPECIAL FORCES
After Trump and Erdoğan spoke via telephone and discussed acting together in Turkey's battle in Turkey's battle to capture Al-Bab and also over Raqqa, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoglu said on Wednesday the Turkish troops would target Raqqa.
"Our first goal is to complete the operation in al-Bab. Forces of the Free Syrian Army, supported by our armed forces, made significant progress. Russian and coalition aircraft also made their contribution. The second goal is the operation in Raqqa. We can send special forces there. As regional countries, as countries inside the (US-led) coalition, we can put our special forces in, we need to put them in," Çavuşoğlu said alongside his Saudi Arabian counterpart Adel al-Jubeir in Ankara.
"It is necessary to conduct the Raqqa operation not with terror groups but the right people," he added.
'ANKARA PRESENTED A DETAILED PLAN'
Ankara has presented a detailed plan to drive Islamic State out of its Raqqa stronghold in northern Syria and discussions on the issue are underway, the spokesman for Erdoğan said on Wednesday.
Speaking to broadcaster NTV, İbrahim Kalın said there had been better coordination with the U.S.-led coalition on air strikes in the last 10 days and Ankara's priority was to establish a safe zone between the Syrian towns of Azaz and Jarablus.
'COALITION IS OPEN TO TURKEY PLAYING ROLE IN RAQQA'
After the Turkish officials statements, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. John Dorrian said in a briefing that the Turkish military has not yet participated in the offensive to liberate the Syrian city of Raqqa from the Islamic State.
"They have not [participated] so far. They have been focused on Al Bab and other areas," Dorrian said when asked about Turkish participation in the Raqqa operation.
Dorrian noted that the coalition is "open" to Turkey playing a role in the Raqqa operation and added talks concerning Ankara’s participation remain ongoing.
