Washington ‘not fulfilling’ deal on Syrian Kurdish militia removal, Erdogan says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that the US is not fulfilling its pledge to remove a Kurdish militia from a Syrian border region.

Ankara launched a cross-border offensive with Syrian rebels against Kurdish YPG fighters a month ago. After seizing control of a 120km (75-mile) swathe of territory, it reached a deal with the US to keep them out of that area.

Erdogan will discuss the implementation of the agreement with President Donald Trump in Washington on November 13. The Turkish president confirmed that the visit would go ahead following a phone call between the leaders overnight, Reuters reports.

“While we hold these talks, those who promised us that the YPG… would withdraw from here within 120 hours have not achieved this,” Erdogan told reporters, referring to a deadline set in last month’s agreement.