Trump’s senior advisor visits Turkey amid tensions
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.
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Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by 58 runs
Ahmedabad, Apr 9 (PTI): Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by 58 runs in their Indian Premier League match here on Wednesday.
Chasing 218 for a win, the Royals were all out for 159 in 19.2 overs.
Shimron Hetmyer top-scored for RR with a 32-ball 52 while captain Sanju Samson chipped in with a 28-ball 41.
For GT, Prasidh Krishna took three wickets while Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore got two each.
Earlier, Sai Sudharsan struck a breezy 82 to help GT post 217 for 6.
Sudharsan's 53-ball innings was studded with eight fours and three sixes, while M Shahrukh Khan and Jos Buttler made 36 each.
Brief Scores:
Gujarat Titans: 217 for 6 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 82, Jos Buttler 36, M Shahrukh Khan 36; Maheesh Theekshana 2/54, Tushar Deshpande 2/53).
Rajasthan Royals: 159 all out in 19.2 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 52, Sanju Samson 41; Prasidh Krishna 3/24, Rashid Khan 2/37, Sai Kishore 2/20).
