Erdoğan to meet Putin over US pullout from Syria

Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters on Tuesday that he will most probably meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss U.S. withdrawal from Syria.

He did not disclose the timing of the meeting. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will travel to Russia in the coming days to discuss the same issue, broadcaster CNN Turk quoted him as saying on Tuesday.

On Monday, Erdoğan's spokesman said Turkey would increase coordination with Russia in Syria following the U.S. decision to withdraw.

Speaking to reporters, Erdoğan also said the U.S. has done its part by deciding to withdraw its troops from Syria on Tuesday.

He said that they are focusing more on the announced U.S. troop withdrawal than the French president’s statement that French soldiers will stay.

Stressing continuing cooperation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Syria, Erdoğan said, "America has done its part.”

Erdoğan has signaled that a cross-border operation against the terrorist PYD/YPG in Syria will happen soon, possibly including areas where U.S. troops currently are. Since 2016, Ankara has carried out two similar military operations in northern Syria.

Trump last week made the surprise announcement that the U.S. would withdraw its troops from Syria. His decision followed a phone call with Erdogan in which the two leaders agreed on the need for more effective coordination over the civil war-torn country.

Erdoğan also said that they would declared 2019 the Year of Gobeklitepe in honor of the 12,000-year-old temple in the southeastern Sanliurfa province, the world’s oldest.

Göbeklitepe was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List this list this June.