U.S., Turkey Set for Negotiations on Fate of Kurds

ANKARA (AP) —
U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton arrived in Turkey on Monday for negotiations on the fate of American-allied Kurdish fighters in Syria.

Bolton will seek assurances from the NATO ally that it won’t attack the Kurds when the U.S. withdraws troops from northeastern Syria. Monday’s visit comes a day after Bolton said such guarantees were a “condition” of the pullout President Donald Trump ordered last month.

Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, a terrorist group linked to an insurgency within its borders, and has threatened to mount an assault on the groups that have fought alongside U.S. troops against the Islamic State in Syria.

Bolton, who is expected to meet Tuesday with Turkish officials including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, says that’s unacceptable.

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