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Tillerson: US will 'work on' its Manbij promises given to Turkey

16 February 2018 12:05 (UTC +04:00)

The U.S. will work on the promises it gave to Turkey on northern Syria's Manbij, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in his visit to Ankara in an attempt to soothe the highest tension between the two NATO allies in decades, APA reported citing Daily Sabah.

Speaking at a press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt ÇavuÅŸoÄŸlu, Tillerson said the U.S. and Turkey will no longer "act alone" in Syria. "We will work together... we have good mechanisms on how we can achieve this, there is a lot of work to be done," he said.

In response to Tillerson's comments, ÇavuÅŸoÄŸlu said Turkey would take joint steps with the U.S. once the PKK-linked People's Protection Units (YPG) leaves Syria's Manbij,

Tillerson also said that the U.S. recognizes Turkey's legitimate right to secure its borders, but reiterated Washington's call for Ankara to show restraint in its operation in Syria's Afrin.

Meanwhile, the joint statement released after the meeting reaffirmed the two countries' resolve to fight against Daesh, PKK and other terrorist organizations and their extensions.

Soon after the meeting began, a senior Turkish official said that Turkey had proposed to the U.S. that YPG terrorists withdraw to the east of the Euphrates River in Syria and that Turkish and U.S. troops be stationed together in the country's Manbij area.