Work has accelerated on Manbij roadmap: Turkish FM

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) – Work on the roadmap for ridding Manbij, Syria of PKK/YPG terrorists has accelerated, Turkey’s foreign minister said Wednesday.

Speaking to members of the Turkish press in Washington, Mevlut Cavusoglu said the U.S. had been responsible for a slowdown in the roadmap.

"There has been an acceleration...In particular, the U.S. administration and Secretary of State [Mike] Pompeo are asking for immediate implementation of this [roadmap].

He said Ankara and Washington would not have experienced tensions if the Manbij deal had been implemented earlier.

Despite the progress, however, Cavusoglu said the roadmap "must be fully and immediately implemented".

Turkey has vowed to carry out a counter-terrorist operation in Syria, east of the Euphrates, following two similar successful operations since 2016.

The Manbij deal between Turkey and the U.S. focuses on the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from the city to stabilize the region, which is located in the northern part of Syria’s Aleppo province.