The United States and Turkey are “locking arms” in Syria, said Tillerson in a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. “We’re not going to act alone any longer… We are going to act together from this point forward.”
They will begin in Manbij, the northern Syrian city under control of US-ally the Manbij Military Council and the Kurdish YPG, a force Ankara alleges is a terror group.
The US promised the YPG will leave the Manbij region, Cavusoglu stated. And once the Kurdish forces are gone, Turkey will be able to take steps forward with its NATO ally, he said.
Tillerson asserted that they “share the same objective in Syria” – to defeat ISIS, stabilize the country in order to allow refugees to return home, and support a political solution for a unified Syria, with no internal demarcations dividing the country.
They will closely coordinate on the final defeat of ISIS “and other terror groups” inside Syria, Tillerson added.
He said he had urged Turkey to “show restraint” in its ongoing military offensive in the Kurdish canton of Afrin.
The press conference was held after a meeting between Tillerson and Cavusoglu Friday morning following more than three hours of talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the night before.
Tillerson is in Turkey to mend relations with Turkey.
“Ours is not an alliance of convenience,” he told reporters, stressing their historical ties and shared sacrifices.
