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Trump, Erdogan discuss Syria in phone call: Turkish presidency

US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the Syrian conflict during a phone call on Thursday, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

The statement was released not long after it was announced that Turkish and American troops had begun conducting joint patrols in the northern Syrian city of Manbij.

The leaders discussed the co-operation agreement in Manbij, which is held by a US-backed Kurdish militia that Turkey deems a terrorist group, the statement said.

They also spoke of Idlib, the last major area in Syria still outside the control of the regime of President Bashar Assad, where a demilitarised zone has been planned.

The presidents agreed to maintain "close contact" and maintained their "determination" to "further strengthen bilateral relations", according to the statement.

Washington's support of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria has strained already tense relations between NATO allies Turkey and the US.

Ankara considers the YPG to be a "terrorist offshoot" of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a bloody insurgency in Turkey since 1984 with the goal of forming an independent Kurdish state.

To ease ties, the countries agreed to a road map in June that included the YPG withdrawing from Manbij and establishing the joint patrols in the city.

However Turkey has repeatedly threatened a new offensive in northern Syria and has shelled YPG positions there in the past couple of days.

The US-led coalition against ISIS said on Thursday it was working to "de-escalate" fighting between Turkey and the Kurdish militia.

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