U.S. President Barack Obama in a telephone call with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Friday, February 19 urged the Ankara government and Kurdish YPG forces to "show reciprocal restraint" in northern Syria, AFP reports.

"President Obama stressed that YPG forces should not seek to exploit circumstances in this area to seize additional territory, and urged Turkey to show reciprocal restraint by ceasing artillery strikes in the area," a White House statement said.

Meanwhile, Turkey's presidency said Obama had shared his concerns over the Syrian conflict and promised his support.

In the phone conversation that lasted one hour and 20 minutes, Ankara said Obama had told Erdogan that Turkey “had a right to self-defense, and expressed worries over advances by Syrian Kurdish militias near Turkey's border.”