ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey and the United States will oversee the withdrawal of Syrian Kurdish YPG militants from northern Syria’s Manbij town, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted by NTV and other local media as saying on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters on his flight to Moscow, Cavusoglu said Turkey and the United States will decide on a plan for securing Manbij during talks on March 19, but said Turkish forces would carry out a military operation if those failed.

Cavusoglu also said Turkey had not made any demands from the Syrian government regarding Manbij, and added Ankara would monitor the return of weapons given to the YPG by the United States, an issue that has strained ties between the NATO allies.