Talks between US, Turkish militaries to continue next week: Bolton

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Friday talks between the U.S. military and its Turkish counterparts on Syria will continue next week, in the hopes of producing results both countries accept.

Bolton had suggested on Tuesday that protecting Washington's "Kurdish allies", referring to Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists, would be a pre-condition of the U.S. withdrawal troops from Syria, which began earlier on Friday. That drew a rebuke from Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who called his comments "a serious mistake."

"What we’re still pursuing in these military to military conversations are assurances and protocols and procedures so that everybody feels comfortable with how this is going to happen. And we’re hoping those discussions, which will continue next week, will produce results that are acceptable on both sides," he said in an interview with Hugh Hewitt, according to a transcript.