US President Donald Trump congratulated Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on his referendum campaign in a phone call late Monday and vowed close cooperation on Syria, Iraq and the fight against Kurdish militants, Turkish presidential sources said.
The two leaders discussed the Assad regime’s chemical attack on April 4 that killed around 100 civilians and injured 500 others in the opposition-held town of Khan Sheikhun in Idlib province.
Investigators in Turkey and international bodies believe sarin gas was used in the attack.
“We cannot stay silent over regime attacks anymore,” Trump told Erdogan, the source said.
They agreed Bashar al-Assad was responsible for the attack.
The American president thanked Turkey for backing the US missile strikes on an Assad regime air base in Syria in retaliation for the chemical attack. Both sides highlighted the need for cooperation in the fight against terrorist groups, including Daesh, the source said.
Trump also told Erdogan he cared about the friendship between Turkey and the US, and noted there were important things to do together. “The US would not remain indifferent to Assad regime’s attacks on civilians anymore,” according to a presidential source.
The two leaders also agreed to increase bilateral cooperation and partnership in Syria and Iraq, and the fight against the PKK, the source added.