YPG terrorists to be disarmed, withdraw from Manbij: FM Çavuşoğlu

Weapons that were supplied to terrorists from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s Syria affiliate, the YPG, will be taken back as part of the Manbij roadmap agreement between the U.S. and Turkey, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Tuesday.

“The YPG will withdraw from Manbij and security there will be ensured by American and Turkish police force,” said Çavuşoğlu at a press conference.

Çavuşoğlu also stressed that once complete, the Manbij model should be applied elsewhere in Raqqa and Kobani.

Çavuşoğlu, however, pointed that joint work with the U.S. in Syria is not an alternative to efforts with Russia.

A crucial summit between Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo concluded in Washington on Monday.

Çavuşoğlu revealed on his official Twitter account that he and Pompeo discussed the roadmap for northern Syria's Manbij and the conflict in Syria.

Çavuşoğlu was quoted as saying that his talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were "very successful," noting that he expected concrete results on PKK/PYD terrorists.

The PYD and its military YPG wing are Syrian branches of the PKK, which has waged war against Turkey for more than 30 years. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.