Washington:
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday that Syrian citizens must be protected after Ankara-backed Islamists overthrew the Damascus government.
The top US diplomat met Erdogan late on Thursday for more than an hour in a lounge at the capital Ankara's airport, shortly after the Turkish leader greeted Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Blinken “reiterated the interest of all actors in Syria to respect human rights, uphold international humanitarian law and take all possible steps to protect civilians, including members of minority groups,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller , in a statement.
Turkey has highlighted its security concerns following unrest in Syria, where the country has been fighting a Kurdish-led force backed by Washington as a key player in the fight against Islamic State (IS) jihadists.
After years of deadlock, the Islamist movement Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overthrew Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, a secular-oriented member of the Alawite minority community, last weekend.
Blinken told Erdogan about “the need to ensure that the coalition to defeat ISIS (IS) can continue to carry out its critical mission,” Miller said.
Ahead of his departure to Turkey for a stopover in Jordan, Blinken acknowledged Turkey's “real and clear interests” over the PKK, the Kurdish fighters Ankara links to Syrian Kurdish guerrillas.
“At the same time, we want to prevent further conflict within Syria,” Blinken told reporters in Aqaba, Jordan.
“And part of that must also ensure that ISIS does not emerge again. And crucial to ensuring that doesn't happen is the so-called SDF, the Syrian Democratic Forces, which we have supported,” he said, referring to the Kurdish-led forces.
Blinken, who will leave office next month after Donald Trump's election victory, has called for an “inclusive” process to form Syria's next government, with respect for all communities.
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