US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived here for talks focusing on the fight against the extremist group Daesh, Radio Free Europe reported on Thursday.

The State Department said Tillerson's meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior government officials on March 30 would include discussions of "the way forward with our campaign to defeat" Daesh militants in Syria and Iraq.

It said Tillerson would reaffirm "the United States' high-level engagement with our NATO ally" and Turkey’s "important role in ensuring regional stability."

Ankara is pressing Washington to mount a joint fight to retake the Daesh militants’ last Syrian stronghold of Raqqa. Turkey wants US-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters to be excluded from the operations.

The discussions are also expected to touch upon Ankara’s request for the extradition of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is wanted in Turkey for allegedly masterminding a failed coup attempt last year. Gulen denies the charges.

Source: MENA