Turkey on Tuesday called on the U.S. to fulfill their roadmap for Manbij, Syria and remove PYD/YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, terrorists from the region as soon as possible.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler met with US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford in the capital Ankara. During the meeting, the sides discussed taking back weapons from the PYD/YPG terrorists, and the fight against terrorist groups including Daesh, the Turkish defense ministry said in a statement.
Akar reiterated that Turkey is determined to take any measures needed for its border security and regional stability, saying the Turkish army is fighting against the PKK/PYD/YPG terrorist groups and Daesh, not its Kurdish brothers in the region. The defense minister added that Turkey has always respected the territorial integrity of both Syria and Iraq.
Dunford also reiterated the US’s commitment to Turkish security, according to a spokesman for the chairman.
“The senior leaders discussed the security situation in Syria, the completion of the Manbij roadmap, and the deliberate, coordinated effort to withdraw US ground forces from Syria. They also discussed the importance of continued US-Turkish cooperation on counterterrorism efforts to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS,” Col. Patrick Ryder said in a statement, using another name for Daesh. “The US and Turkey enjoy a strong and continuous military-to-military relationship as key members of the NATO alliance,” Ryder added.