Jeffrey: U.S. ready to provide Turkey with ammunition

ANKARA – On Tuesday, U.S. Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey and U.S. Permanent Representative to the U.N. Kelly Craft, visited Hatay Province in southern Turkey to monitor humanitarian aid distribution to Syrian people displaced from Idlib, which is the focus of fierce fighting.

Jeffrey and Craft visited the UN Logistics Center in Reyhanlı District in Hatay Proince and the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing.

The two U.S. diplomats also met with a number of members of the “White Helmets”, a civil service organization operating in Turkish and opposition-controlled territory.

In a statement to the media, Ambassador Craft indicated the need to keep the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam crossings open for UN humanitarian aid which should be handed over to the displaced Syrian people. She also stressed the need to achieve a permanent ceasefire. The U.S. has allocated $ 180 million to aid Idlib’s displaced and called upon other countries to increase their aid.

Jeffrey stated to the media that Washington was ready to provide Turkey with ammunition in its operations in Idlib. He did not elaborate what type of ammunition.

It is worth noting that this is the first official U.S. visit to the area since 2011 and occurs as a result of increasing Turkish military involvement in Idlib.

U.S. President Donald Trump, in a phone call with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, expressed U.S. support for Greece in protecting its borders and facing the refugee crisis on Turkish-Greek border.