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US, Turkey Set for Negotiations on Fate of Kurds

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton has arrived in Turkey for negotiations on the fate of American-allied Kurdish fighters in Syria.

By ZEKE MILLER, Associated Press

National Security Advisor John Bolton unveils the Trump administration's Africa strategy at the Heritage Foundation in Washington on Dec. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton has arrived in Turkey for negotiations on the fate of American-allied Kurdish fighters in Syria.

Bolton will seek assurances from the NATO ally that it won't attack the Kurds when the U.S. withdraws troops from northeastern Syria. Monday's visit comes a day after Bolton said such guarantees were a "condition" of the pullout President Donald Trump ordered last month.

Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, a terrorist group linked to an insurgency within its borders, and has threatened to mount an assault on the groups that have fought alongside U.S. troops against the Islamic State in Syria.

Bolton, who is expected to meet Tuesday with Turkish officials including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, says that's unacceptable.

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