Turkish army chief, NATO general discuss Manbij roadmap

ANKARA

Turkey's Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti on June 27 discussed the Turkish-U.S. Manbij roadmap over the phone, according to Turkish military.

In a statement, the Turkish General Staff said Akar and Scaparrotti, who is also the Commander of U.S. European Command, addressed the implementation of the security principles in accordance with the Manbij roadmap.

The roadmap, which was announced on June 4, foresees the withdrawal of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) from the northern Syrian city of Manbij.

The U.S. considers the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), dominated by YPG militants to be its main ally in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria.

Ankara has long pushed for the removal of YPG, which it considers the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that has been designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.

kar and Scaparrotti also discussed the current security situation in the north of Syria, the statement added.

The two, separately, exchanged views on some NATO-related issues.