Obama, Erdogan Discuss Need for Close Cooperation to Counter Daesh

US President Barack Obama spoke by phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and noted the need for Washington and Ankara to coordinate efforts against the Daesh group in Syria, the White House said in a press release.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Erdogan is at odds with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi over Ankara's role in US-led coalition operation in Moshul after Abadi demanded Turkish troops withdrawal from the base in the northern city of Bashiqa.

"President Obama noted the need for close coordination between the United States and Turkey to build on these successes and to apply sustained pressure on ISIL [Daesh] in Syria to reduce threats to the United States, Turkey, and elsewhere," the release stated on Wednesday.

The White House said Obama welcomed continued discussions between Turkey and Iraq to determine the level of Turkey’s involvement in coalition operations.

Additionally, the two leaders agreed on the need to deny the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) sanctuary in northern Iraq.

On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara had not ruled out a ground operation in Iraq targeting the PKK or the Daesh.

Ankara is allied with Masoud Barzani, president of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, but considers Syrian Kurdish groups in the anti-Islamic State coalition to be extensions of the PKK, which is a designated terrorist group in Turkey.