Erdogan Mentions New Start With Trump, but Warns Turkey Will Attack Syrian Kurds

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared both confrontational and conciliatory Friday, saying his scheduled talks next week with President Donald Trump could mark a “new beginning” in relations between the two NATO allies, who've been increasingly at cross purposes over Syria.

Erdogan cautioned, though, that Washington's decision to arm Syrian Kurds for an assault on the Islamic State's Syrian stronghold of Raqqa had damaged strategic relations between Turkey and America.

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“What we are seeing is a deterioration of the alliance,” said Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank.

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Whether Trump will choose to confront Erdogan or disregard those remarks will be consequential in setting the future direction of U.S.-Turkish relations, said Schanzer and fellow analysts at the FDD during a conference call with journalists.

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