ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th September, 2018) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his dissatisfaction with delays in implementation of the Turkish-US agreements on the northern Syria city of Manbij.
In June, Turkey and the United States struck a deal regarding Manbij, agreeing that the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) would withdraw from the city and yield control over Manbij to the Turkish and US troops. Ankara has long sought this development since it considers the YPG to be affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey.
"I cannot characterize the situation around Manbij as satisfactory. Implementation of the agreement is being delayed. Unfortunately, the process is not developing in a proper direction. Heads of our [Turkish and US] foreign and defense ministries will hold the talks and I hope on some progress," Erdogan told reporters, as quoted by the Haberturk broadcaster.
The president added that he was not going to hold talks with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the issue in the near future.
Turkey has been claiming that the YPG's presence near its border hampers its national security. Earlier this year, it conducted an offensive against the Kurdish militia in Syria's northern border city of Afrin. Ankara is also currently engaged in an operation to eliminate Kurdish strongholds in northern Iraq.
