UPDATE – Turkey has no issue with Kurds: Erdogan

UPDATE WITH MORE REMARKS, WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT </p> <p>By Ozcan Yildirim </p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Turkey has no problem with Kurds and aims to fight terror groups Daesh, PKK and its Syrian affiliates PYD/YPG, threatening national security, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a phone call with his U.S. counterpart on Monday. </p> <p>A statement from the Turkish presidency said Erdogan and Donald Trump discussed the idea of a terror-free safe zone in Syria's northern region.</p> <p>Turkey backs Trump's decision on the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, Erdogan said.</p> <p>The two leaders agreed to advance bilateral economic relations. </p> <p>The phone call came after Trump's tweeted threat to &quot;devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds,&quot; conflating &quot;Kurds&quot; with the terrorist PYD/YPG, a confusion that Turkey has repeatedly criticized.</p> <p>The leaders emphasized that the Manbij Road Map should be completed to avoid a vacuum of authority in the region.</p> <p>Trump &quot;expressed the desire to work together to address Turkey’s security concerns in northeast Syria while stressing the importance to the United States that Turkey does not mistreat&quot; the PYD/YPG terror group, the White House said in a separate readout of the call.</p> <p>Joint Chiefs Chairman Joseph Dunford is set to meet with his Turkish counterpart Yasar Guler on Tuesday for further consultations, the White House said. </p> <p>Erdogan has signaled that a cross-border operation against the PYD/YPG terrorist group in northeastern Syria will happen soon. Since 2016, Ankara has carried out two similar military operations in northern Syria.</p> <p>Turkish and U.S. troops began joint patrols in Manbij on Nov. 1 as part of an agreement that focuses on the withdrawal of PYD/YPG terrorists from the city to stabilize the region.</p> <p>PKK is a terrorist group recognized by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU, which in its 30-year terror campaign has taken some 40,000 lives.</p> <p>*Michael Hernandez contributed to this report from Washington