NEW YORK (Agencies): US President Joe Biden’s top national security aide said Thursday that Turkey and US-backed Kurdish fighters in Syria have agreed to de-escalate fighting around Manbij.
“Our commitment to our partnership with the Syrian Kurds, especially the Syrian Democratic Forces, is deep and resolute, and that commitment exists because we are in a partnership with them to fight ISIS,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.
Sullivan was asked about US talks with Turkey, which has expressed its deep frustration with Washington’s continued support for the SDF in Syria.
Speaking to reporters during a trip to Israel, Sullivan said the US was holding serious and intense conversations with Ankara about “our expectations and about what we see as the best way forward.”
According to Sullivan, these talks have already produced some results, revealing that Turkey and the SDF had “kind of informally signed up” to de-escalate tensions.
However, “all of that is tenuous, it is fragile. It is something that is going to require ongoing work and cultivation, and it is something that we will be very vigilant to as a top priority going forward.”
