US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken held talks with Turkey's top diplomat in Ankara.
Blinken began meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at 9:40 a.m. local time, a US official was quoted by AFP as saying.
Late on December 12, he flew to the Turkish capital and met with Erdogan for more than an hour in the VIP lounge of Ankara airport, the US official said.
During their talks, Erdogan said Turkey would never back down in the fight against Islamic State group (ISIS) jihadists in Syria, despite its efforts to target the U.S.-backed Kurdish group seen as key to containing the militants.
"Turkey will never allow a weakness to arise in the fight against ISIS," Erdogan told him, according to an overnight statement from his office.
He said Turkey will take "preventive measures against all terrorist organizations, especially PKK/PYD/ISIS and ISIS terrorist organizations, which are operating in Syria and pose a threat to Turkey, especially for its own national security."
During his meeting with Fidan, Blinken stated that it is "imperative" to work against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.
"Our country is working very hard to ensure the elimination of the ISIS territorial caliphate to ensure that this threat does not return. And it is imperative that we continue those efforts," he said at a joint press conference with Turkey's top diplomat.
The US Secretary of State stressed that he sees "encouraging signs" of progress towards a ceasefire in Gaza. He urged Turkey to use its influence to encourage Hamas to accept future proposals.
"We discussed Gaza and the possibility of achieving a ceasefire. And what we have seen in the last few weeks are more encouraging signs that this is possible," Blinken remarked.
"We talked about the imperative for Hamas to say yes to a possible agreement to help finally end this problem. And we very much appreciate the role that Turkey can play by using its voice with Hamas to try to bring this to an end," he added.
Blinken also discussed efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza when he arrived in Jordan on December 12 on his 12th visit to the Middle East since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war. | BGNES
