Turkey has proposed to the United States that the PKK's Syrian offshoot the People's Protection Units (YPG) withdraw to east of the Euphrates river in Syria and that Turkish and U.S. troops be stationed together in the country's Manbij area, a Turkish official said on Friday.
The official said the United States was considering the proposal, which was made to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during his on-going visit to Ankara.
Previously, the U.S. administration under former President Barack Obama had promised Turkey that the YPG terrorists would move east of the Euphrates. However, despite warnings from Ankara, the promises were not kept, and the YPG did not move east of the Euphrates.
The YPG's ultimate aim is to establish an autonomous region in northern Syria by connecting the northwestern Afrin canton to the Kobani and Jazeera cantons in the northeast. As such, Turkey's operation will put a stop to establishing the autonomous region, which Ankara terms a "terror corridor."
As a result of broken promises by the U.S., Turkey also shifted its position and vowed to clear all terrorists from northern Syria, including Manbij and the eastern parts of the Euphrates.
According to the Turkish General Staff, Operation Olive Branch, launched on Jan. 20, aims to establish security and stability along Turkey's borders and the region and protect Syrians from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists. The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey's rights based on international law, U.N. Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the U.N. Charter and respect for Syria's territorial integrity.
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