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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday that Turkey and the US agreed to normalize their ties, after weeks of rising tensions due to Turkey's military operation in Syria.
Speaking at a joint press conference with visiting US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Cavusoglu said the two sides will set up mechanisms to address the issues that have strained the bilateral relations.
“What is important is who will govern and provide security to these areas,” he said. “We will coordinate to restore stability in Manbij and other cities. We will start with Manbij. After YPG leaves there, we can take steps with the US based on trust.”
The top Turkish diplomat added that the two sides will hold another meeting by mid-March as part of the discussions.
For his part, Tillerson said the US and Turkey will work together in Syria, where Turkey is conducting a cross-border military operation to fight the Kurdish militia.
"We are not going to act alone any longer, not the US doing one thing, Turkey doing another," Tillerson said, adding that the two NATO allies have "good mechanisms" for cooperation.
While recognizing Turkey's right to secure its borders, Tillerson urged Ankara to show restraint in its military operation in Syria.
He was referring to the ongoing operation by Turkish military in Afrin, Syria, in a bid to oust the Kurdish militia of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
The YPG is regarded by Ankara as the Syrian affiliate of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that has been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's southeast.
Turkey has vowed to expand its military operation to Manbij, where US troops are deployed with Kurdish forces to fight the terror group ISIL.
The US had warned Turkey against the move, which it said could lead to confrontation between Turkish and US troops. Tillerson said priority will be given to the issue of Manbij as the two sides work together.
Tillerson arrived in Turkey on Thursday for two days of what officials have said would likely be uncomfortable discussions between the allies, whose relations have frayed over a number of issues, particularly US support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, who are seen as terrorists by Turkey.
Turkey launched an air and ground assault last month in Syria's northwest Afrin region to drive the YPG from the area south of its border.
The militia is the main ground element of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which the United States has armed, trained and aided with air support and special forces to fight ISIL.
Ahead of the meeting, Turkey had called for the United States to expel the YPG from the anti-ISIL SDF forces it is backing in Syria.
"We demanded this relationship be ended, I mean we want them to end all the support given to the Syrian arm of PKK, the YPG," Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli told reporters in a briefing in Brussels, a day after meeting US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on the sidelines of a NATO meeting.
"We demanded this structure be removed from SDF," he said.
(CGTN)
