ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th October, 2019) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had a phone conversation with US State Secretary Mike Pompeo on Wednesday just as Ankara started a new military operation in Syria, a source in the Turkish Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Wednesday.
Currently Ankara is conducting a fresh land offensive in northeastern Syria as part of Operation Peace Spring against Kurdish groups and the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia).
"Our minister had a phone conversation with US State Secretary Mike Pompeo," the source said.
While the United States backed Kurdish forces in Syria as allies in the fight against the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia), Turkey considers them to be an arm of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Turkey has classified the PKK as a terrorist organization.
Ankara claims that the operation aimed at clearing the border area of Kurdish militias, creating a security zone and accommodating Syrian refugees there.
