Implementation Of Deal To Remove Kurdish Fighters From Manbij Accelerating, Says Turkish Foreign Minister

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says work to remove Kurdish fighters from northern Syria has accelerated, reports Turkey's Anadolu Agency.

Implementation of a roadmap has made progress but Kurdish fighters remain in the northern city of Manbij, Cavusoglu told reporters in Washington on Wednesday. 

The U.S. and Turkey are working to establish who will run the city and provide security, reported Reuters. 

The foreign minister blamed the U.S. for the slow implementation of a June 2018 roadmap to remove Kurdish fighters, whom Ankara views as terrorists. 

The plan calls for Kurdish fighters to withdraw from Manbij and joint U.S.-Turkish patrols to ensure security in the town. 

Discussions over a potential buffer zone in northern Syria also continue with Russia and the U.S., said Cavusoglu. 

No concrete plans have emerged, he said. 

A key concern for the buffer zone will be finding a force agreeable to Ankara, the local population of Kurds, Assyrians and Arabs, and neighboring governments, noted analysts.