Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Sedat Önal visited Washington on 1-2 November and had meetings with U.S. Under Secretary of State David Hale and Under Secretary of Defense John Rood.

In the meetings, the ways of enhancing relations between the two allied countries and coordination on regional issues were discussed. In this context, the need for making the existing cooperation mechanisms functional was also emphasized.

During the meetings, both sides expressed their satisfaction for launching joint patrols in accordance with the previously agreed Manbij Roadmap between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the importance of full implementation of the Roadmap was emphasized.

In this respect, it has been underlined that the ending of the U.S. engagement with PYD/YPG was a fundamental necessity, not only for Turkey's national security, but also for establishing sustainable peace and stability in Syria.

It has also been affirmed that provocative actions of PYD/YPG near our Syria border have been retaliated strongly in accordance with our rules of engagement and that no terrorist activities would be tolerated whomever they may come from as we had already expressed.

Our sensitivities regarding the presence of FETÖ and particularly its leader in the U.S. have once again been made clear and our expectation that the need for concrete steps to be taken on this subject soon was registered.