WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Mattis will arrive in Kiev on August 24 and will meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak, Pahon said.
In a press release, the Pentagon said the trip will come after Mattis visits Jordan and Turkey from August 21-23. He is expected to meet Jordan’s King Abdullah and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lieutenant General Mahmoud Freihat in Amman to discuss the fight against the Daesh terror group (banned in Russia).
Among the topics discussed at the meeting will be Turkey’s efforts to fight the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is a proscribed terror group in both Turkey and the United States. Ankara alleges the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), a major US ally in the counter-Islamic State operations, is connected to the PKK.
Earlier Friday, Turkey’s Haberturk television channel reported that Mattis will also meet Russian Armed Forces General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov for talks on Syria.
