“We said we reached an understanding, which is mainly that Syria’s Manbij and the east of the Euphrates be stabilized. We said we reached an understanding, not an agreement,” he told reporters in Ankara.
Cavusoglu was responding to media reports that the NATO allies had reached deal over the Kurdish-controlled town in northern Syria. Turkey’s presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin told Al Jazeera on Monday that they have an agreement and are waiting for the US to implement the deal.
US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert dismissed Kalin’s claim, saying “no agreement has been reached.”
Kurdish YPG forces ousted ISIS from Manbij in 2016 and a local council is now governing the city. Ankara alleges that the YPG is a branch of the PKK, a named terror organization, and has repeatedly insisted they withdraw from the city and all territories west of the Euphrates River.
The United States, fighting alongside the YPG in the war against ISIS in northern Syria, established an outpost in Manbij in a show of support for their Kurdish allies in the face of Turkey’s aggression.
The Manbij Military Council, a YPG-backed force that provides security for the city, hosted an American delegation earlier this week, asking them to fulfill promises to protect Manbij from “foreign attacks.”
“The American delegation explained that they are present in Manbij and areas in northern Syria and that they will take part in all activities in Manbij to bring about a suitable environment for stabilization and security in the area,” the Council stated.
US backing for the Kurdish forces has angered Ankara, who accuse the Americans of supporting terrorists.
Last month, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Ankara to begin talks to build a “strategic partnership” and mend relations with Turkey, with the issue of Manbij taking high priority. His sacking this month has not affected talks, Cavusoglu has said.
Speaking on Wednesday, Cavusoglu said that the YPG pulling out of Manbij is just the beginning.
“Manbij is, of course, not enough. First, the YPG will leave and the people of Manbij will govern it. The security of the area will be ensured. We will apply the Manbij model to other areas controlled by the YPG as well,” he said.
Turkey’s president has threatened to take its military operation against Kurds in Afrin across the whole of Kurdish Rojava, northern Syria and over the border into Iraq.
