Following months of disagreements between the United States and Turkey, the two NATO allies have reached a consensus regarding a roadmap to cooperate on security in Manbij.
“The two sides outlined the main contours of a roadmap for their further cooperation in ensuring security and stability in Manbij,” the joint statement said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and the newly appointed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will "consider the recommendations" of the working group during their meeting, set for June 4, the statement read.
The working group on Syria was formed after Cavusoglu and then-US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met in February; in March, Turkish diplomats made a visit to Washington as part of the working group. Manbij is now controlled by the US-backed Kurdish militia, YPG, considered by Ankara to be an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist organization in Turkey.
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Earlier this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again slammed the United States for providing assistance to the YPG.
"The United States [aid] is mostly deployed on the Manbij side. And the help they are providing there consists of weapons and ammunition supplies to the YPG [Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units, banned in Turkey]," the TRT broadcaster cited Erdogan as saying.
In early May, Erdogan promised not to “give up on constricting terrorist organizations” in northern Syria, warning that the Turkish Armed Forces were “ready for new missions.”
Erdogan has also repeatedly threatened to expand the offensive to Manbij and Idlib unless Washington pulls the Kurdish militia out from the region.