Coalition jets strike ISIL in Syria’s al-Bab after long delay: Turkish FM

ANTALYA

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Dec. 30 that the U.S.-led international coalition struck Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets in northern Syria’s al-Bab province for the first time in a long while.

Çavuşoğlu also said Ankara would welcome the U.S. at upcoming Syria peace talks in Astana, saying “no parties were excluded” from the Astana process.

“If the [Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units] YPG lays down its weapons and backs Syria’s territorial unity, even it can be part of comprehensive solution,” he added.

However, Çavuşoğlu said Turkey had told Russia from the start that the YPG “should not be involved in the Astana process.”

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had said he has evidence that U.S.-led coalition forces have given support to terrorist groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Syrian Kurdish forces.