Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kilic, and Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces Gen. Yasar Guler were also present for the meeting, stated a readout supplied by the Pentagon.

Relations between the two states have been rocky over the past year, especially over the Trump administration’s policy of supporting the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

On Friday, the US announced that it would be leaving about 400 US troops split between two different regions of Syria even as it withdraws most of the 2,000 troops currently in the country. The administration hopes that this will persuade its European allies to set up a “safe zone” in northeastern Syria, according to Reuters.

Turkey has been pushing for a safe zone, but it is unclear whether the plans under discussion will appease Turkey, which has made it clear that intends to counter what it sees as a threat from the YPG.

“We reminded our partners that there should be no vacuum of power in any way during the withdrawal,” Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency.

“I would like to underline the difference between the YPG, PYD, PKK type terrorist organizations,” Akar added. “We have never had any problem with Kurds or other ethnicities in Turkey or outside Turkey in Syria.

“But there will be fighting against terrorist organizations.”

US officials said that the focus was on improving the working relationship with Turkey and countering the continued presence of Islamic State in Syria.

“Today’s meeting is really about talking about the next steps,” Shanahan said according to a Pentagon press release. “We need to continue to do our excellent planning to find solutions, in particular to Syria.”

“I think we all recognize that it is very complex, but we have the smartest people available to work on this situation,” he continued. “I look forward to the progress we will make today and at our next meeting and the meetings after that.”

“I’m confident that we can continue the campaign,” Dunford said before the meeting.

“We had always planned to transition to a stabilization phase where we train local forces to provide security to prevent the regeneration of [Islamic State]. So, there is no change in the basic campaign. The resourcing is being adjusted because the threat has been changed,” he added.

The US and Turkish officials also addressed the latter’s intention to purchase the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system, which has raised concerns in Washington that the purchase would jeopardize Ankara’s purchase of F-35 jets and possibly even result in US sanctions.

The chairman of Turkey’s Defence Industry Directorate Ismail Demir said on Wednesday that is impossible for Turkey to accept the United States’ offer on purchasing Patriot defense systems instead, according to Reuters.

Talks are reportedly continuing, but Ankara seems set on purchasing the S-400.

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