Joint US-Kurdish patrols near Syria border unacceptable for Turkey – Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that US-Kurdish joint patrols near the Turkish-Syrian border are unacceptable. Erdogan, set to meet US President Donald Trump in Paris this weekend, told reporters he would discuss the patrols carried out by the US and allied Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). He said they would cause “serious negative developments” along the border. The patrols began in northern Syria last week with the aim of averting clashes between Turkey and Washington’s Kurdish allies, but Turkey pressed on with a new threatened offensive nearby to crush the Kurds, Reuters said.