ISTANBUL- Turkey’s presidency said U.S. President Barack Obama had shared his concerns over the Syrian conflict and promised his support on Friday, 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 Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey had a right to self-defense, and expressed worries over advances by Syrian Kurdish militias near Turkey’s border.
Obama stressed to Erdogan that Syrian Kurdish 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.
Obama expressed his condolences to Erdogan over the bombing in the Turkish capital, the White House said.

Source: Reuters, Feb 20, 2016