Turkey supports plans to drive Islamic State out of its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa but US -backed Kurdish militia fighters should not be at the core of the operation, Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik said on Thursday.
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The American official noted that Turkish operation in Jarablus also prevented the movement of Daesh and foreign fighters between Syria and Turkey, stating that there is American-Turkish cooperation with the moderate Syrian opposition, including logistic and aerial support in Manbij and Jarablus.
Turkey launched its first major military incursion into Syria just over two weeks ago.
Washington says Turkish attacks on Kurdish-aligned militias damage a US-backed coalition that is fighting Islamic State.
Carter made the comments to reporters after meeting his Turkish counterpart, Fikri Isik, in London.
Last month Turkey launched an operation inside Syria, targeting both ISIS and Kurdish rebels. Ankara has said the YPG, which it regards as a terrorist group, must withdraw to the east of the Euphrates river.
Turkey would seek no other objective around Manbij other than the retreat of the YPG forces, Isik said.
“Nobody’s going to go in there and occupy those cities except the people who already live there”.
Turning to plans for peace in Syria, which has been ravaged by a five-year civil war that, according to the country’s United Nations envoy, has seen at least 400,000 people killed, Carter said the only hope for ending the war was for “some of the structures” of the Syrian government, although not Bashar al-Assad himself, to be part of a transitional administration.
The two men also discussed the importance of local forces being at the center of any Raqqa operation, the Pentagon said in a statement.
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Carter said the USA was also working with the SDF, which is made up of forces including the PKK/PYD.
