The United States of America has welcomed the apparent pause in war between Turkish forces and Kurdish militia fighters in northern Syria on Tuesday (30 August).
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The Jarablus Military Council is backed by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance of Arab and Kurdish forces.
Ankara has summoned the U.S. ambassador over Washington’s criticism of Turkish military operation into northern Syria.
Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish forces an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, a domestic group that Ankara has declared a terrorist organization.
USA officials on Tuesday welcomed what appeared to be a pause in fighting between Turkish forces and rival militias, after days when the border area reverberated with Turkish warplanes roaring overhead into Syria and artillery pounded Syrian sites, saying it was hitting Kurdish fighters.
Turkey is alarmed by the growing power of Kurdish forces, which have proved to be strong allies of the USA -led coalition fighting IS. Washington has appealed on both Ankara and Syrian Kurds to stop fighting each other.
Turkish EU Minister Omer Celik refuted allegations Wednesday that there had been a cease-fire agreement between Turkey and the PKK/PYD terror group. “It is out of the question for the Turkish Republic to have any kind of a tie, an agreement. with this organization”.
Turkey has demanded that the YPG cross the Euphrates river into a Kurdish-controlled canton in Syria’s northeast. After that, they advanced on areas controlled by Kurdish-aligned militias which have U.S. support in battling jihadists. Erdogan will hold discussions on the issue during the G-20 summit in China, he added.
He reiterated Turkish calls that Washington has to live up to its assurances that the Syrian Kurdish forces withdraw east of the Euphrates and that the pullout immediately takes place.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, however, said the operation would continue until all threats, including that of Kurdish militia fighters, were removed from the border area.
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The Pentagon has denied reports it was monitoring a cease-fire but said Turkish forces had moved to the west, while Kurdish forces had moved east of the Euphrates River, as per the insistence of Turkish and USA authorities.
