Washington: The White House said on Sunday that a senior advisor of US President Donald Trump visited Turkey on February 10 and 11 amid escalating tensions of the two NATO allies over Turkey's attack in Afrin, Syria.

Citing a White House statement, Xinhua reported that H.R. McMaster, Trump's National Security Advisor, met with Ibrahim Kalin, Deputy Secretary General and Spokesperson of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his visit to Istanbul.

During their meeting, Kalin and McMaster affirmed the bilateral strategic partnership and discussed the "priorities and concerns" and common strategic challenges of both countries, said the White House.

It added that they addressed issues affecting bilateral relations in detail and explored ways to expand the joint fight against all forms of terrorism.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will also visit Turkey next week in his Middle East trip and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis is also due to meet his Turkish counterpart Nurettin Canikli in Brussels.

Relations between Washington and Ankara have been highly strained, in part due to US support for the the People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria.

Turkey sees the YPG as Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the US and the EU.

 

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday had a meeting with Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc, and discussed the work India is doing in artificial intelligence and how the technology giant can work with Indian students and professionals in this field.

Pichai is here to attend the ongoing India AI Impact Summit, which is being held at Bharat Mandapam here alongside an expo.

"It was a delight to meet Mr. Sundar Pichai on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit in Delhi. Talked about the work India is doing in AI and how Google can work with our talented students and professionals in this field," Modi wrote on X.

The prime minister on Monday visited the India AI Impact Expo here, featuring more than 600 high-potential startups and 13 country pavilions showcasing international collaboration in the AI ecosystem. Over 20 heads of state, 60 ministers and 500 global AI leaders are attending the summit.