Eurasia Press & News
In a press briefing on Tuesday, the spokesman for the U.S. Department of State, Ned Price, renewed his country’s concerns about a breach of the 2019 ceasefire agreement in northeast Syria and said that any escalation by Turkey would affect the battle against the Islamic State Organization (ISIS).
“I’ve previously made the point that we expect Turkey to live up to the commitments that it made in October of 2019, including the commitment to halt offensive operations in northeast Syria,” Price said.
He added that any aggression on Syria by Turkey could affect the efforts made to achieve regional stability and result in “costly setbacks” in their fight against ISIS.
On June 1st, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his threats of launching a military operation on northern Syria and specified his targets in the two Syrian cities of Manbij and Tel Rifaat, which include many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
The spokesman reiterated his country’s rejection of a Turkish military operation against northern Syria and noted that they made this clear to their Turkish partners.
“This is something that we have had an opportunity to discuss, including at senior levels, with our Turkish allies. We’ve made very clear to them our concerns with any renewed offensive in northern Syria.”
