White House statement does not accurately reflect Erdogan’s phone call with Trump: Turkish source

Turkish army tanks enter Afrin, an enclave in northern Syria controlled by US-allied Kurdish fighters, in Hassa, Hatay, Turkey, Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country will “not take a step back” from its military operation on Afrin. (AP)

ISTANBUL: The statement issued by the White House regarding Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s phone call with US President Donald Trump does not accurately reflect the content of their conversation, a Turkish source said on Thursday.
“President Trump did not share any ‘concerns about escalating violence’ with regard to the ongoing military operation in Afrin,” the source said, referring to one comment in the White House summary of their phone call.
“The two leaders’ discussion of Operation Olive Branch was limited to an exchange of views,” the source said.