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Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoganrenewed vows to drive out Syrian Kurdish militants across Turkeys bordersafter talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Irans President Hassan Rouhaniin Ankara today.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Erdogan said, Turkey will not stop until all regions under PYD/PKK control, including Manbij, are secured. We will never allow either Syria or our region to be attacked by a few terrorist groups. The PYD is the acronym for the Democratic Union Party, the dominant Kurdish group in northern Syriawhose armed wing, known as the Peoples Protections Units (YPG), isthe US-led coalitions top ground force in the fight against the Islamic State.PKK is short for the Kurdistan WorkersParty, the militia that is fighting for Kurdish self-rule inside Turkey and is closely allied with the PYD. Turkey says they are one and the same.

The summit to discuss the trios future steps in Syriais part of the so-called Astana processtoend hostilities between regime forces and opposition rebels through a series of cease-fires, the establishment of humanitarian corridorsand the deployment of peace monitors in thecountry's north, west and south, which fall outside the United States zone of influence. Of immediate concern is the fate of Idlib province, the last remaining rebel stronghold on the Turkish border where infighting among jihadigroups is weakening their grip.

In a statement issued at the conclusion of the summit, the three presidents declared there was no military solution to the seven-year Syrian conflict and "reiterated the necessity to assist the Syrians in restoring the unity of their country and in achieving a political solution of the ongoing conflict through an inclusive, free, fair and transparent Syrian-led and Syrian-owned process."

The picture of unity displayed by the leaders, however, belied the extent to which they also differ intheir respective priorities in Syria. For Turkey it is to dismantle PYD rule. For Iran, it is to ensure the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remains intact. For Russia, it is to consolidate its strategic foothold in the eastern Mediterranean though a mix of diplomatic dexterity and military muscle.

In comments carried by Irans official news agency IRNA, Rouhani repeated calls for the United States to go. The fact is that the illegal presence and interference of the United States in Syria lead to the increase of tension and the countrys disintegration, he said. Irans state television quoted Rouhani as also telling Erdogan and Putin that Turkey must hand control of the mainly Kurdish enclave of Afrin, which it captured last month from the YPG, back to the Syrian regime.

All must have been dazed by the flurry of conflicting messages coming out of Washington as to whether some 2,000US special operations forces will remain in Syria. Over the past week President Donald Trump said twice that US forces would be leaving soon. Today, US officials quoted by Reuters affirmed that the president still wantsthe troops to return but had reluctantly agreed to their continued deployment until IS is defeated.

Turkey is fiercely opposed to an American presence thatrelieson the YPG, but is equally alarmed at the prospect of a hasty US withdrawal that would see sophisticated weapons given to the Kurds to fight IS left in Kurdish hands. Erdogan reportedly aired those concerns in his April 2 telephone conversation with Trump, sources familiar with the substance of the exchange told Al-Monitor.

Ankarawants the Pentagon to partner with rebel groups it mentors instead, foremost in Manbij, an Arab-majority town the coalition helped YPG forces wrest from IS in August 2015. Manbij lies just to the west of the Euphrates River, which Turkey labeled a red line the Syrian Kurds must not breach. The Pentagons failure to fulfill pledges to end the YPG presence once Manbij fell sparked escalating tensions between Ankara and Washington, culminating in veiled threats by Erdogan to confront US forces in Manbij if need be.

Brett McGurk, the US special envoy for the counter-IS fight at the State Department, outlined the difficulties of the Turkish plan at a US Institute of Peace panel yesterday. He dwelledin particular on the Islamist nature of Turkeys rebel allies, which is why the Pentagon remains leery of working with them.

McGurk reminded a packed audience that the reason the United States partnered with the YPG to take Manbij, where major attacks against the West had been planned, was because earlier attempts to do so with the Turkish-backed rebels had failed. The clearing of Manbij in turn facilitated Turkeys own Euphrates Shield operation against IS in Jarablussoon after. McGurk said,The complexity of this is not justUS-Turkey conversation, it is on the ground in Syria.These are mostly people from Manbij, there are Arabs thatlive in Manbij, but the people working with the Turks are also from Manbij, but they have a very different orientation." He said that many of the opposition groups outside of Manbij have"a more Islamist orientation, wherein Manbijright now some women are covered, some are not. It is a much more, for lack of abetter word,secular environment.

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Erdogan, Putin, Rouhani tout alliance, eye US for next move

ANKARA (Reuters) - The leaders of Turkey and Russia marked the official start of work to build Turkeys first nuclear power station on Tuesday, launching construction of the $20 billion Akkuyu plant in the southern province of Mersin.

The plant will be built by Russian state nuclear energy agency Rosatom and will be made up of four units each with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkeys Tayyip Erdogan marked the start to construction, watching by video link from Ankara.

When all four units go online, the plant will meet 10 percent of Turkeys energy needs, Erdogan said, adding that despite delays Turkey still planned to start generating power at the first unit in 2023.

Speaking at a later news conference with Putin, Erdogan said the cost of the project may exceed the planned $20 billion for the 4,800 megawatt (MW) plant, part of Erdogans 2023 vision marking 100 years since the founding of modern Turkey and intended to reduce Turkeys dependence on energy imports.

Since Russia was awarded the contract in 2010, the project has been beset by delays.

Last month, sources familiar with the matter said Akkuyu was likely to miss its 2023 target start-up date, but Rosatom, which is looking for local partners to take a 49 percent stake in the project, said it is committed to the timetable.

The Interfax news agency cited the head of Rosatom saying the sale of the 49 percent stake was likely to be postponed from this year until 2019.

Turkish companies have been put off by the size of the financing required as well as by concerns they will not receive a sufficient share of the lucrative construction side of the deal, two industry sources have said.

Erdogan told the news conference Turkey may cooperate with Russia on defense projects besides the S-400 missile defense system which Moscow has agreed to supply to Ankara. He did not give further details.

Turkey signed an agreement to buy the S-400 system in late December in a move which raised concern in the West because it cannot be integrated into NATOs military architecture.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will join Erdogan and Putin for a three-way summit on Syria in Ankara on Wednesday.

Additional reporting by Ece Toksabay and Denish Pinchuk in Ankara and Andrey Ostroukh in Moscow; Writing by Dominic Evans and Daren Butler; Editing by Robin Pomeroy

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Erdogan, Putin mark start of work on Turkey's first nuclear power plant | Reuters

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu a terrorist on Sunday, escalating an exchange of insults that started after he criticized Israels lethal military response to a demonstration on the Gazan border.

Israel has defended the killing of 15 Palestinians during Fridays demonstration and Netanyahu tweeted that the Israeli army will not be lectured by those who have indiscriminately bombed civilian populations for years, referring to Turkey.

Erdogan told supporters on Sunday: We dont have the shame of invading on us, Netanyahu. You are an invader and right now are present in those lands as an invader. At the same time, you are a terrorist.

In another speech he said: You are a terrorist state. It is known what you have done in Gaza and what you have done in Jerusalem. You have no one that likes you in the world.

In a later tweet, Netanyahu said: Erdogan is not accustomed to being answered back to, but he should start getting used to it. He who occupies northern Cyprus, encroaches on Kurdish territory and massacres civilians in Afrin cannot preach to us on values and morals.

Israels defense minister has rejected calls for an inquiry into Fridays events.

Hamas, the dominant Palestinian group in Gaza, said five of the dead were members of its armed wing. Israel said eight of the 15 belonged to Hamas, designated a terrorist group by Israel and the West, and two others came from other militant factions.

Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem; Editing by Robin Pomeroy

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ISTANBUL Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that his country had begun operations in Iraq's Sinjar region, an area where it had threatened cross-border military action.

The announcement came two days after sources said Kurdish PKK militants would withdraw from Sinjar. The PKK, or Kurdistan Workers Party, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state for decades.

"We said we would go into Sinjar. Now operations have begun there. The fight is internal and external," Erdogan told a crowd in the Black Sea province of Trabzon, without elaborating on what operations he was referring to.

Iraq's Joint Operations Command denied that any foreign forces had crossed the border into Iraq.

"The operations command confirmed that the situation in Nineveh, Sinjar and the border areas was under the control of Iraqi security forces and there is no reason for troops to cross the Iraqi border into those areas," it said in a statement.

But Erdogan said last week the PKK was creating a new base in Sinjar about 75 miles west of Mosul and that Turkish forces would attack if necessary.

Sources in northern Iraq said Friday the PKK would withdraw from Sinjar, where it gained a foothold in 2014 after coming to the aid of the Yazidi minority community, who were under attack by Islamic State militants.

In October, Iraqi government forces launched an offensive to retake the area in response to a Sept. 25 referendum on Kurdish independence, which Baghdad opposed.

The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. For decades, it has been based in Iraq's Qandil mountain range, near the border with Iran.

Turkish troops and their rebel allies swept into northwest Syria's Afrin town this month, the culmination of an eight-week campaign to drive Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters from the region. Turkey sees the YPG as terrorists and an extension of the outlawed PKK.

Erdogan has vowed to extend the military operation along the Syrian border and on Sunday said the Turkish-led forces would take control of the town of Tel Rifaat.

Many civilians and YPG fighters have gathered in and around Tel Rifaat after Turkey seized control of Afrin. The Kurdish-controlled enclave is cut off from a larger expanse of Kurdish territory in the northeast of Syria.

The United Nations said last week that around 75,000 people had been displaced to Tel Rifaat and surrounding areas from Afrin, and more were expected to come.

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Erdogan says 'operations' start against Kurdish PKK in Iraq

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkey had begun operations in Iraqs Sinjar region, an area where it has threatened a military incursion, two days after sources said Kurdish PKK militants would withdraw from the area.

We said we would go into Sinjar. Now operations have begun there. The fight is internal and external, Erdogan told a crowd in the Black Sea province of Trabzon, without elaborating on what operations he was referring to.

Iraqs Joint Operations Command denied that any foreign forces had crossed the border into Iraq.

The operations command confirmed that the situation in Nineveh, Sinjar and the border areas was under the control of Iraqi security forces and there is no reason for troops to cross the Iraqi border into those areas, it said in a statement.

Sources in Sinjar said there was no unusual military activity in the area on Sunday.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state for decades. President Tayyip Erdogan said last week they were creating a new base in Sinjar, and that Turkish forces would attack if necessary.

Sources in northern Iraq said on Friday the PKK would withdraw from Sinjar, where it gained a foothold in 2014 after coming to the aid of the Yazidi minority community, who were under attack by Islamic State militants.

The PKK, considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States, has for decades been based in Iraqs Qandil mountain range, near the border with Iran.

Turkish troops and their rebel allies swept into northwest Syrias Afrin town this month, the culmination of an eight-week campaign to drive Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters from the region. Turkey sees the YPG as terrorists and an extension of the outlawed PKK.

Erdogan has vowed to extend the military operation along the Syrian border and on Sunday said the Turkish-led forces would take control of the town of Tel Rifaat.

Many civilians and YPG have gathered in and around Tel Rifaat after Turkey seized control of Afrin. It is a Kurdish-controlled enclave, cut off from a larger expanse of Kurdish territory in the northeast of Syria.

The United Nations said last week that around 75,000 people had been displaced to Tel Rifaat and surrounding areas from Afrin, and more were expected to come.

Additional reporting by Lisa Barrington in Beirut and Raya Jalabi in Baghdad.; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Kevin Liffey

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