US support for SDF not long-term: US Syria envoy

ANKARA

U.S. Special Envoy for Syria James Jeffrey has said that Washington’s support for armed groups in northern Syria was temporary.

The U.S.’s relationship with the SDF is "tactical" and "transactional", Jeffrey said in a speech at the Atlantic Council, a Washington, D.C.-based think-tank on Dec. 17.

"We don’t have permanent relations with sub-state entities," he said, adding the U.S. supported the SDF with the specific goal of fighting against ISIL.

The SDF is dominated by the YPG, which Ankara considers as the Syrian extension of the PKK, which is listed as terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.