Obama calls Erdo?an, shares Turkey's Syria concerns

Turkey's presidency said U.S. President Barack Obama had shared his concerns over the Syrian conflict and promised his support on Feb. 19, hours after a tense exchange between the two NATO allies over the role of Kurdish militants.

In a phone conversation that lasted one hour and 20 minutes, Ankara said Obama had told his counterpart President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an that Turkey had a right to self-defense and expressed worries over advances by Syrian Kurdish militias near Turkey's border.

Speaking to reporters in Washington, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that during the Obama-initiated call, the two leaders also discussed the situation in Syria.

Obama stressed to Erdo?an that  Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union (PYD) and the YPG. forces should not seek to exploit recent gains by the Syrian government to seize additional territory, the White House said in a statement.

He also called for Turkey to "show reciprocal restraint" by stopping artillery strikes in the area, the statement said.

Earlier on Feb. 19, Erdo?an said U.S.-supplied weapons had been used against civilians by a Syrian Kurdish militia group that Ankara blames for the deadly suicide bombing on Feb. 16, which claimed 28 lives.

The U.S. State Department, which sees the Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters as useful allies against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), said the United States had "not provided any weapons of any kind" to the group.

The issue risks driving a wedge between the NATO allies at a critical point in Syria's civil war, as the United States pursues intensive talks with Syria's ally Russia to bring about a "cessation of hostilities."

Obama expressed his condolences to Erdo?an over the bombing in the Turkish capital, the White House...