U.S. CENTCOM Commander General Joseph Votel said they would continue to support the YPG.

General Joseph Votel, U.S. CENTCOM Commander, said support for YPG would continue, which is the policy of the US government.

In his statements with a group of journalist via telephonic press briefing after his visit to Syria and Iraq, Votel started with the words that will get the reaction from Turkiye.

Remembering the PKK/YPG elements killed in conflicts, Votel said: "For their efforts and sacrifice, we all – the global community – should be thankful for their efforts. Those forces have done well and continue to fight bravely. There is more work to do and they continue to do it."

On the question of will they continue to support YPG [SDF] in Syria despite the Turkiye's operation ongoing in Afrin, Votel answered clearly as "Yes" and added: "We will continue to support the Syrian Democratic Forces as they continue their efforts to defeat ISIS and to prevent their resurgence and to create conditions for stability in the area that allow the humanitarian aid and other organizations to get in there to help the people. That’s been our government’s policy."

On the question of " You said that there are efforts to secure the Turkiye borders. What if you come face-to-face, could there be any confrontation with American forces? Votel said: "We are doing everything that we absolutely can to avoid that type of confrontation, and so we routinely – daily – communicate with our Turkish partners about activities that are taking place on the ground, about the locations of Coalition forces and partner forces and the intentions of activities that we are undertaking on the ground, and so we have a very robust deconfliction and coordination mechanism to ensure that that does not happen."

ILKHA