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On May 30, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Davutoglu revealed during an interview with the Turkish news outlet Haber that the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) might withdraw from the northern city of Manbij before the end of this summer, as a part of the roadmap for cooperation on Manbij, which was allegedly outlined by the Turkish-US working group.

“This action plan [on withdrawal of YPG] could be applied by the end of summer. Turkish and American soldiers will jointly supervise the withdrawal,” the Turkish Anadolu Agency quoted Davutoglu as saying during the interview with Haber.

Davutoglu also confirmed that he will discuss the roadmap with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his upcoming visit to Washington on June 2 and 3. According to the Turkish Foreign Minister, the roadmap could achieve “stability in all of Syria’s northeast,” as it will not be limited to Manbij only.

The US Embassy in Turkey announced on May 25 that the Turkish-US working group on Syria met in the Turkish capital of Ankara and outlined the main contours of a road map for “cooperation in ensuring security and stability” in the northern Syrian city of Manbij. However, the embassy didn’t provide any details back then.

Local observers viewed the US-Turkish initial agreement as a huge blow to the YPG, which is considered the largest force of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Despite of this, the Kurdish force is expected to obey the agreement if it’s really reached.

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