Senior US officials meet PKK/YPG officials in Syria

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Senior US officials met with the PKK/YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces and associated groups, the State Department said on Monday.

Acting Assistant Secretary Joey Hood, Acting Special Representative for Syria Aimee Cutrona and National Security Council Director for Iraq and Syria Zehra Bell met Sunday with "senior officials of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Syrian Democratic Council, ranking council members and tribal leaders from Raqqa, Coalition military counterparts, and humanitarian actors," the department said in a statement.

Hood "underscored the U.S. commitment to cooperation and coordination in the Coalition to Defeat ISIS, continued stability in northeast Syria, and the delivery of stabilization assistance to liberated areas to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS," the department said, referring to the Daesh/ISIS terror group.

"In his engagements, the Acting Assistant Secretary emphasized the U.S. commitment to support all efforts toward a political resolution of the Syrian conflict," it added.

The YPG is the Syrian branch of the PKK, a designated terror group in the US, EU and Turkey. US support for the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces has significantly strained relations with Ankara.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.