The United States and Turkey have achieved progress in their discussions on safe zones in Syria, and Washington looks forward to making more headway, US Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey said in congressional testimony on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd May, 2019) The United States and Turkey have achieved progress in their discussions on safe zones in Syria, and Washington looks forward to making more headway, US Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey said in congressional testimony on Wednesday."We are concerned about the relationship between Turkey and our SDF partners in the northeast which is why we are working this discussion, our negotiation with the Turks on this safe zone. We think we've made some progress and we are looking forward to making more," Jeffrey said during a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
In April, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoyn said that discussions on the safe zone in Syria's northeast continue, but Ankara insists on Turkey's control over it.
In January, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said US President Donald Trump had proposed in a phone conversation creating an 18-mile (30-kilometer) buffer zone in Syria. According to Erdogan, the future security zone will be controlled by the Turkish military.
Last December, Erdogan announced that Ankara was ready to launch an offensive against the Kurdish militia in then Kurdish-controlled Manbij. However, following a phone conversation with Trump, the Turkish president said that the operation had been postponed. Trump himself announced the withdrawal of US troops from Syria after the same call.
Washington and Ankara have long been at loggerheads over the status of Syrian Kurds. Turkey has criticized the United States for delivering military supplies to Kurds in Syria.
Turkey has repeatedly conducted operations against the Kurds. In March this year, Ankara announced its operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is designated by Turkey as a terrorist group, however, without revealing the targeted area. Back in 2018, Turkey led Operation Olive Branch in majority-Kurdish Afrin district in northern Syria.
