Ankara says US State Department ‘failed to report’ true content of Pompeo talks

Ankara has accused the US State Department of making false claims after a meeting between top US and Turkish diplomats. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held talks on Wednesday during the Turkish official’s visit to Washington as part of 70th anniversary celebrations of the NATO alliance. The US State Department said Pompeo had warned Ankara of “devastating consequences” if Turkey launches an offensive in Syria and requested the “swift resolution” of legal cases involving US citizens and US mission employees in Turkey. Pompeo also pressed Cavusoglu about Turkey’s plans to buy the S-400 missile defense system from Russia, according to the statement. However, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said on Thursday that the readout “not only fails to reflect the content of the meeting, but also contains matters that were not even raised during said meeting.”