Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is pleased with the results of his talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington on June 4.
Taken at face value, Ankara seems to have scored something of a diplomatic success by convincing Washington to come around to its position regarding the presence of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in the northern Syrian city of Manbij. This will also provide a welcome boost to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party ahead of the crucial presidential and parliamentary elections June 24. However, many questions about the deal struck by Ankara and Washington remain.
The joint statement issued after the June 4 Cavusoglu-Pompeo meeting said the sides had “endorsed a road map” on how to proceed in Manbij. It added that they had also underlined their mutual commitment to implementing the road map. Little was provided, however, about the details of what was actually agreed on. Most of the information about the “road map” has been coming from the Turkish side, while Washington has refrained from going on the record in this regard.
Remarks by Cavusoglu and from American officials who spoke on condition of anonymity show that there is still much work to be done before the agreement comes into force.
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