The two ministers discussed coordinating operations against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.
“Secretary Austin emphasized that close and continuous coordination is crucial to maintaining the ongoing success of the D-ISIS mission,” Pentagon chief spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder said in a read out to the press.
“The Secretary and Minister Guler also discussed the importance of setting the conditions to enable a more secure and stable Syria,” he added.
The Turkish defense ministry said in a statement that the two officials discussed “bilateral relations and regional defense and security issues, especially in Syria.”
The phone call comes a little over two weeks after the collapse of the Baathist regime, headed by ousted President Bashar al-Assad, in Syria.
It also follows recent clashes between the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) across several fronts, since the start of the rebel offensive last month.
The SNA has been attacking the SDF at Tishreen Dam. The dam sits on the Euphrates River, upstream from scores of towns and villages, urban centers like Raqqa, and downstream from the border town of Kobane. It provides electricity to much of northeast Syria (Rojava). The SDF took control of the facility from ISIS in 2015 with the help of American troops.
The US brokered a temporary ceasefire between the warring parties, but the Turkish foreign ministry denied agreeing to it and said that Ankara does not negotiate with “terrorist organizations.”
Turkey considers the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF, as the Syrian front for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - designated as a terrorist group by Ankara.
