Amid Dispute Over U.S. Arming Syrian Kurds, Mattis Says Relationship With Turkey ‘Not Always Tidy’

Defense Secretary James Mattis expressed confidence Wednesday that a dispute with Turkey over a U.S. decision to arm Syrian Kurdish fighters in the campaign to dislodge ISIS terrorists from their Raqqa stronghold will not affect a relationship between the NATO allies which he described as “not always tidy.”

“We have very open discussions [with the Turks] about options and we will work together,” he said during a visit to Lithuania. “We’ll work out any of the concerns. I’m not concerned at all about the NATO alliance and the relations between our nations.”

“It’s not always tidy,” he added of the relationship. “But we work out the issues.”

 

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