Cavusoglu’s words on Wednesday, January 9, came a day after Turkey rejected US national security adviser John Bolton’s demands for assurances that Ankara would protect US-allied Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria before American troops pull out from the region, according to the Associated Press.

Cavusoglu told Turkey’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee the US was “struggling to withdraw” from Syria because it was too far engaged with the Kurdish group.

In a related development, the Kremlin said on Wednesday that it expected Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to visit Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin soon, but that no date had yet been agreed, according to Reuters.

Russia and Turkey are both major players in the conflict in Syria and in September reached a demilitarization deal that staved off a Syrian army offensive against the Idlib region.

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