By Safvan Allahverdi
WASHINGTON (AA) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday as "very successful", specifically mentioning the contentious issue of a terrorist group in northern Syria.
"I am pleased that we have achieved considerable progress on the YPG/PKK and we expect concrete results for our meeting with Secretary Pompeo this morning," Cavusoglu told a panel organized by the Turkish Heritage Organization (THO), a Washington-based think tank.
"It was very a successful and fruitful meeting," he said.
Turkey's top diplomat also expressed his hope that the U.S., as an ally, would stand with Turkey in opposing the presence of YPG/PKK terror group in the Syrian city of Manbij as well as cooperate in the extradition of Fetullah Gulen, the leader of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.
FETO and the U.S.-based Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Cavusoglu and Pompeo met in the U.S. capital on Monday.
Cavusoglu, who came to Washington Sunday for his first official meeting with Pompeo, arrived at the U.S. State Department earlier in the day.
-Roadmap for PKK/YPG withdrawal
Earlier, Cavusoglu said the implementation of a roadmap for withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from the northern Syrian city of Manbij is expected to begin after his meeting with Pompeo.
The roadmap on Manbij is expected to be announced some time following the meeting with Pompeo.
Cavusoglu also said U.S. support for the PKK/PYD terrorist organization in Syria is one of the most key issues dividing Ankara and Washington.
This January Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, northern Syria to clear terrorist groups from the area. After liberating the city of Afrin, Ankara said it might also extend its operation further east to Manbij, unless the PYD/PKK terrorist group leaves the strategic city.
However, U.S. military support for the terrorist PYD/PKK in Manbij has strained ties between Ankara and Washington, and has led to fears of military clashes between the two NATO allies, since there are roughly 2,000 U.S. troops in the city.
The YPG/PKK and PYD/PKK are Syrian offshoots of the PKK terror group, which has taken some 40,000 lives in its 30-year terrorist campaign against the Turkish state, including those of women and children.
Brushing aside its terrorist status, the U.S. has called the PYD/PKK a “reliable ally” in the fight against Daesh.