Contact Us

US, Turkey can begin more productive conversation after elections, Pompeo says

A News WORLD
Published June 27,2018
Subscribe
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testifies before a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the proposed budget estimates and justification for FY2019 for the State on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 27, 2018. (Reuters Photo)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that the U.S. and Turley could begin an "even more productive conversation" as the presidential and parliamentary elections are over.

Pompeo also underlined that an agreement has been reached between the two states regarding Syria's Manbij.

"We made progress three weeks ago in and around Manbij. We came to the understanding that our forces would work together to resolve the complicated issue," Pompeo said, adding that the U.S. is "hopeful" to build on these relations.

"They will ultimately be an important part of the political solution," he added, saying that the U.S. should to recognize the need "to work best alongside them."

A Manbij roadmap was previously announced after a meeting in Washington between Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Pompeo.

The deal focuses on the withdrawal of the PKK-affiliated the People's Protection Units (YPG) from the northern Syrian city and stability in the region.

Ankara has been long criticizing the U.S. on the grounds that Daesh cannot be defeated by supporting another terrorist group such as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is predominantly led by the PKK-affiliated YPG.

Ankara stresses that U.S. arms support to these terrorist groups will create further instability in the region and calls for withdrawal of the groups from Syria in order to pave way for returning Syrians to their country.

U.S. military support for the YPG terrorist group in Manbij has strained ties between Ankara and Washington and has led to fears of military clashes between the two NATO allies since there are roughly 2,000 U.S. troops in the city.