Manbij roadmap 'moving forward slowly': Turkey's Akar

The Manbij roadmap in Syria is "moving forward", Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Thursday.

Speaking at a ceremony at the Turkish General Staff headquarters in capital Ankara, Akar said: "Manbij roadmap is moving forward even if slowly. We constantly remind our counterparts about necessity of withdrawing YPG/PKK from region."

The Manbij deal between Turkey and the U.S. focuses on the withdrawal of the PKK-affiliated YPG terror group from the city in order to stabilize the region.

About the situation in Syria's Idlib, Akar said: "Turkey strives for ensuring security, preventing attacks, giving aid to nearly 3.5-4 million people in Syria's Idlib without violating the ceasefire."

Located near the Turkish border, Idlib in May was designated as a de-escalation zone where acts of aggression are expressly forbidden as part of the ongoing Astana process.

Nevertheless, for the past two months, the Idlib de-escalation zone has been the target of particular fierce airstrikes by Russia and Assad regime forces.