Trump's Syrian Detente With Erdogan Masks Rot That Runs Deep
- Turkish-American relationship dysfunctional, Edam’s Ulgen says
- Iran, Syria and Gulen’s fate remain key areas of disagreement
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After a diplomatic snub, a string of conflicting messages and a threatening tweet, President Donald Trump and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan are trying to smooth over their differences.
A phone call this week allowed the two leaders to ease their enmity -- Erdogan told lawmakers that he and Trump had reached a common understanding on Syria. But the public reconciliation leaves outstanding divergences on issues from ties with Iran to a missile defense system, while opposing attitudes to Kurdish fighters in Syria look hard to resolve.