US' top diplomat to visit Turkey March 30

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be in Turkey on March 30 to meet senior Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the U.S. confirmed Friday.

The State Department billed Tillerson's visit to Ankara as an opportunity to continue "the United States' high-level engagement with our NATO Ally.

"Secretary Tillerson will reaffirm Turkey's important role in ensuring regional stability, and he will discuss the way forward with our campaign to defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.

The meeting will take place amid continued disputes between Washington and Ankara regarding U.S. support for the YPG in Syria, and the U.S.'s continued failure to extradite terror leader Fetullah Gulen following Turkey's request.

Turkey accuses Gulen of leading the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, or FETO, and masterminding the failed July 15 coup attempt, as well as a long-running campaign to infiltrate Turkish institutions.

After visiting Turkey, Tillerson will visit NATO in Brussels on March 31.

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