Turkey expects U.S. to honor deal on Syria's Manbij

Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-20 06:43:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan
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ANKARA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Turkey hopes the U.S. will implement the deal they struck on Manbij town of Syria, Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said Monday.

Speaking at an interview with the Al Jazeera English live broadcast, Kalin said the two NATO allies will avoid a possible conflict in the region if the withdrawal of the U.S.-backed People's Protection Units (YPG) forces in Manbij is completed.

"Officials may change, but key policies are expected to remain the same," he said, referring to Mike Pompeo being appointed as the new U.S. Secretary of State.

"We hope that the agreements we've reached with our American counterparts will be kept," Kalin added.

Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkish and U.S. soldiers would provide security for Manbij and the Syrian Kurdish militia in the region would withdraw under the monitor of the two countries.

On Sunday, the Turkish troops and Free Syrian Army fighters took control of the Afrin town center, as part of "Operation Olive Branch" which was launched in northeastern Syria on Jan. 20.

Washington has repeatedly voiced concerns about the safety of U.S. troops in Manbij amid Turkey's ongoing military operation against YPG militants in Syria.

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