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The Turkish president's comments on the cooperation against terror groups came as Turkey's prime minister confirmed that the country had "neutralised" 4,600 Daesh militants in Syria and Iraq. Backdropped by a poster of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks to members of the media in Istanbul, Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.

Turkey and Iran have discussed possible joint military action against terror groups, after talks in Ankara last week between the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces and Turkish leaders, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters before departing on an official visit to Jordan, Erdogan also said a more effective struggle against the outlawed PKK and its Iranian affiliate, PJAK, would be possible through joint action with Iran.

"Joint action against terrorist groups that have become a threat is always on the agenda. This issue has been discussed between the two military chiefs, and I discussed more broadly how this should be carried out," Erdogan said.

The PKK and the PJAK are listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, Iran and the US.

Decisive against Daesh

Meanwhile, Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the country has been the most decisive in the fight against Daesh.

Speaking on Monday at a conference during his official visit to Singapore, Yildirim said Turkey had cleared more than 2,000 square kilometres (772 square miles) of territory from Daesh during Operation Euphrates Shield.

"So far, 3,800 in Syria, 800 in Iraq - in total 4,600 Daesh terrorists - have been neutralised. Today, no other country has been more decisive in the fight against Daesh like Turkey," he said.

Operation Euphrates Shield saw Free Syrian Army fighters, who were backed by the Turkish military, take control of territory in northern Syria from Daesh between August 2016 and March 2017.

Yildirim said Turkey continues to play an active role in the global coalitions fight against Daesh.

"Terrorism is a serious threat to national, regional and global security. Close cooperation internationally in the fight against terrorism is a must."

Turkey has been fighting against PKK terrorism for 40 years, he said.

In fact, Turkey has been actively engaged in the fight against Daesh, PKK, PYD, YPG and Fetullah Terrorist Organisation, he added.

"In order to end the global threat by terrorist organizations, all countries should fight them through joint efforts, without making distinctions between them and without stressing their ethnic structure or identity," he said.

Yildirim touched on situation in Iraq and Syria while speaking at the Turkey-Singapore Business Forum.

"This confusion in Syria, Iraq will probably not last for long."

Turkey and other countries were making great efforts to end the problems in the two Middle Eastern countries, he said.

He added Turkey would become the "most stable" country in the next decades.

Source: AA

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Turkey and Iran considering joint anti-terror cooperation, says Erdogan - TRT World

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Turks living in Germany not to vote for political parties he accused of verbally attacking Turkey to bolster their support in next months elections, drawing a rebuke from Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Germanys Christian Democrats and Social Democratic Party -- the two ruling parties -- as well as the Greens are all enemies of Turkey, Erdogan said Friday in televised remarks directed at about 1 million German voters of Turkish origin. I think Turkish voters should teach a necessary lesson at the ballot box to those political parties who are so aggressive and disrespectful toward Turkey.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Aug. 18.

Photographer: Kayhan Ozer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Hours later, Merkel responded through her spokesman that foreign heads of state had no business weighing in on Germanys election process, stoking further tension between the two NATO allies.

On President Erdogans recent statements: We expect foreign governments not to intervene in our internal affairs, Merkels chief spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said on Twitter.

Erdogans call comes days after Merkel, who leads the Christian Democratic Union, criticized Turkey for jailing journalists and activists, saying that the bilateral relationship couldnt continue unchanged. Expanding the European Unions customs union to include Turkey also wont move forward as long as tensions remain, she said.

The Turkish leaders intervention in the German campaign less than six weeks before the Sept. 24 vote drew an stiffer response from Merkels Social Democratic challenger in the election, Martin Schulz, as well as Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, also in the SPD.

Erdogan has lost any sense of proportion, Schulz wrote on Twitter. We stand even more with those who are fighting for a free and democratic Turkey.

Gabriel accused Erdogan of interfering with German sovereignty, saying I call on the people of Germany to stand against this, according to RND.

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Relations between the two countries have turned increasingly hostile after Turkey arrested a German-Turkish journalist in February and Germany refused to allow Turkish government ministers to campaign for expatriate Turks votes before a referendum giving Erdogan sweeping powers in April. They soured further after Turkey arrested 10 human rights activists, including the director of Amnesty International and a German citizen, in July.

With assistance by Patrick Donahue

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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region The fight against the PKK will be at the top of US Defense Secretary James Mattis agenda when he meets with his Turkish counterpart along with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, according to the US Defense Department.

Secretary Mattis will emphasize the steadfast commitment of the United States to Turkey as a NATO ally and strategic partner, seek to collaborate on efforts to advance regional stability and look for ways to help Turkey address its legitimate security concerns, including the fight against the PKK, Col. Rob Manning, the director of the US defense press office told reporters on Friday.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is a listed terrorist organization by Turkey and the United States. The group has waged a three-decades-long guerrilla insurgency against the Turkish government that re-ignited in July 2015 after an ISIS suicide bombing killed 33 young pro-Kurdish activists in Suruc during a press conference announcing a trip to help with the reconstruction of the Syrian town of Kobane.

Ankara links the PKK to the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), a group comprised of mostly Kurds, who the United States is supporting in the war against ISIS in Syria. The YPG and its political wing, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), deny any organic links to the PKK.

The United States has provided arms to Kurdish fighters in Syria, which the Turkish government believes will be used by PKK fighters.

We agree 100 percent with Turkey's concern about PKK, a named terrorist group. It is conducting an active insurgency in Turkey. It has orcestrated the killing of innocent Turkish civilians and Turkish soldiers ... and we support Turkey in its fight against PKK as a fellow NATO member," Mattis said in London after meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirm in May.

The United States military has tried to assure the Turks that arms and equipment will be metered out in an as-needed basis and will be accounted for, only going to vetted partnered forces to be used against ISIS. Earlier in August, the US Ambassador to Turkey denied media reports that the United States had supplied tanks to the YPG.

Prior to being in Ankara, Mattis will travel to Jordan and meet with King Abdullah II and the Jordan's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the first time as defense secretary.

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US defense secretary to address 'fight against PKK' with Erdogan - Rudaw