Trump urges Turkey’s help during talk with France’s Macron

WASHINGTON – Anadolu Agency

U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized the need to boost cooperation with Turkey regarding “shared strategic challenges in Syria” during a telephone call with French President Emmanuel Macron on March 27.

“President Trump stressed the need to intensify cooperation with Turkey with respect to shared strategic challenges in Syria,” the White House said in its readout of the call.

The leaders also discussed recent diplomatic measures taken against Russia in retaliation for chemical attacks blamed on Moscow, as well as trade practices between the U.S. and EU, the White House said.

The telephone call came four days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed his country’s operation in Syria’s northwestern district of Afrin during a telephone conversation with Macron.

Erdoğan expressed his discomfort about baseless statements on the operation during the conversation, according to a Turkish presidential source.

In February, Macron said a 30-day U.N. cease-fire adopted in Syria also applied to Turkey’s Afrin operation. The French leader had also warned Turkey against using the operation as an “excuse to invade Syria.”