A Turkish official said that Ankara had proposed to Washington the withdrawal of the protection units of the Syrian Kurdish people to the east of the Euphrates and the concentration of Turkish and American troops in the Syrian city of Manbej.
“The United States is considering Ankara’s proposal to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during his current visit,” the official said.
The US Defense Minister James Matisse met with his Turkish counterpart on the sidelines of a NATO summit and called on Ankara to keep its focus on fighting Daesh organization in Syria, the official said in a statement.
The Ministry added that Matisse “called for renewed focus on the campaign to defeat Daesh and encourage any attempt by the terrorist organization to rebuild itself in Syria.”
On January 20, Turkey launched a ground and air offensive in the Syrian town of Afrin against the protection units of the Kurdish people, which Ankara regards as “terrorist”, an ally of Washington in the fight against Daesh, and Ankara has indicated earlier that its attacks could expand to include Manbej.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency