US Envoy to Syria: Cooperation with Syria’s Kurds ‘Temporary, Tactical’

US Envoy to Syria: Cooperation with Syria’s Kurds ‘Temporary, Tactical’
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US Envoy to Syria: Cooperation with Syria’s Kurds ‘Temporary, Tactical’

US Envoy to Syria: Cooperation with Syria’s Kurds ‘Temporary, Tactical’

US Special Envoy for Syria James Jeffrey said his country would take some steps by the end of this year to ensure criteria for the road map in Manbij as soon as possible.

He pointed out that Washington's support for the Kurdish warriors is tactical and temporary, stressing the need to collaborate closely with Turkey to reach a final solution in Syria.

“We want to have cooperation with Turkey across the board on all Syrian issues,” Jeffrey told reporters after the meetings.

“We think that there will be no final conclusion of this (Syria) conflict without very close Turkish-American cooperation, and as I said, Manbij is a good model for that cooperation,” he said.

The United States has been carrying out a security audit by fulfilling its commitment on the departure of members of Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and People's Protection Units (YPG) from Manbij, Jeffrey noted, adding that it is making sure they are not included in local councils and local military personnel in the city.

“We are committed to accelerated and concrete progress on the Manbij roadmap by the end of the year,” Jeffrey said in his statements following the third meeting of the Turkey-US working group, which was concluded in Ankara on Friday night.

He added that Turkey and the US had "agreed to continue to work on joint planning with regard to other areas as mentioned in the roadmap."

Jeffrey also noted that joint group discussed all issues related to Syria, starting from east of the Euphrates River until northwestern province of Idlib.

He explained that other areas, in which a model can be applied, will be addressed during the joint planning phase, which has been launched and includes supporting Turkey in Idlib too.

Notably, US and Turkish foreign ministers signed the Manbij roadmap agreement in Washington on June 4.

It stipulated the withdrawal of Kurdish YPG from the city to the east of the Euphrates and joint supervision to achieve its security and stability until the formation of a local council for its administration in a 90-day timeframe.

However, the implementation of the agreement was delayed, and Ankara held Washington responsible for this delay.

Early November, Turkish and US forces started patrolling in the outskirts of Manbij, but elements of the Kurdish YPG are still inside the city.



Arab League Urges UN Security Council to Stop Israeli Assault against Palestinian People

A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Arab League Urges UN Security Council to Stop Israeli Assault against Palestinian People

A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A man prepares meals to be distributed to displaced Palestinians in front of a leveled building in Gaza City on November 2, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

The Arab League urged on Saturday the UN Security Council and the international community to assume their responsibilities and exert pressure on Israel to stop its assaut against the Palestinian people and to ensure that it provides all humanitarian assistance needed by the people in Gaza Strip.

In a statement marking the 107th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the Arab League urged Britain and all the other countries that did not recognize the Palestinian state to take this step in support of peace in line with the two-state solution.

It emphasized that the only way to achieve just, comprehensive and lasting peace is to end the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since 1967, and to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital according to international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

"The Balfour Declaration continues to be a profound wound in the human conscience due to the Nakba that the Palestinian people have experienced and the ongoing deprivation of their legitimate and inalienable rights to freedom and independence. This refers to the Israeli occupation's violations and practices, settlement and Judaization, annexation and siege, the destruction of the Palestinian people's livelihoods, and the desecration of their religious shrines," the Arab League statement said.

It stressed that Israel's continued crimes and violations are a reflection of the international community's inability to fulfil its obligations and assume its responsibilities in resisting aggression and occupation, protecting the Palestinian people.

It must ask Israel to comply with the principles of international law and relevant resolutions in a manner that ends the occupation and allows the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination in an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Arab League stressed that Israel continues to insist on expanding the area of its hostilities to include Lebanon and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights despite the imminent danger of a regional war.

Moreover, the Israeli Knesset's decision to ban UNRWA's work in the occupied Palestinian territories is an additional flagrant violation of the UN Charter, of the international will, and of all human values.

The aim of this step is to destroy generations of Palestinians for whom the UN agency represents a lifeline in catastrophic humanitarian conditions. It is imperative that Israel stop these crimes and protect the agency's work in accordance with its UN mandate.