Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson over Qatar row, Syria

Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had separate meetings in Istanbul with visiting US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, as the two NATO allies are sharply divided over Syria. The top Turkish and US officials did not make any statement to the press prior to their meeting on Sunday, but the state-run Anadolu Agency said the latest developments in Syria, counter-terrorism efforts and the Qatar row dominated their discussions, Xinhua news agency reported. Turkey, annoyed at US continued arming of the Syrian Kurdish militia and involving them in the battle for Raqqa, the stronghold of the Islamic State group in Syria, has been reportedly making preparations for a military offensive against Afrin, a Kurdish-held canton in northwestern Syria. Erdogan had a closed-door meeting with Tillerson on Sunday evening, Turkish media said.