Erdogan Urges Putin to Take Steps Against Kurdish Militants

On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to take concrete steps against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria.

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Erdogan told Putin in a phone call that "concrete steps should now be taken to eradicate the terrorist organization YPG from Türkiye's border regions, especially from Tal Rifaat and Manbij" in northern Syria.

The Turkish President has repeatedly vowed to launch a ground operation into northern Syria "at the most convenient time" to build a security zone.

His administration considers the YPG as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has rebelled against the Turkish government for over three decades.

The two leaders also discussed a Ukrainian grain export deal and natural gas cooperation. Türkiye will improve its infrastructure in order to build a natural gas center, Erdogan told Putin, adding that his administration hoped to complete the roadmap to implement the plan as soon as possible.

Ankara and Moscow achieved positive results of the negotiations on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, along with the issues of resuming the grain corridor, prisoner exchange, and the safe zone initiatives around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Erdogan said.

He added that calls for peace and negotiations should be supported by a unilateral ceasefire and a vision for a fair solution to the Ukrainian conflict.