'We don't know these people particularly well,' a senior State Department official said of Syrian rebel groups accused of atrocities, adding that the U.S. was 'asking the Turks to chase them down.'
Fighting between NATO ally Turkey and local partner the Syrian Democratic Forces has frustrated U.S. efforts to defeat the Islamic State militant group , which also faced a rival campaign led by the Syrian government and its allies. As other insurgents lost ground to Syrian troops and partnered forces, they gained in two Turkish invasions against the Syrian Democratic Forces, whose U.S. partner declined to step in.
Amid continued clashes and shifting alliances on the ground, Trump and Erdogan were set to meet face-to-face for the first time since the latter's incursion. Some legislators have opposed the meeting in the wake of the invasion. "In this particular case, the two presidents decided it would be best to do this one on one," the official added."Don't look at these things as rewards; they're the execution of diplomacy."
Washington has neither joined these negotiations nor any talks with Assad, who the Trump administration has maintained would have to step down from power as part of a political transition. Shortly after the Pentagon began withdrawing from parts of northeastern Syria, however, the Syrian Democratic Forces struck a deal with Damascus to send Syrian and Russian troops to positions once held by U.S. personnel.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
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