If one is to go by leaks to the media as well as official statements out of Ankara, Turkey and the United States have essentially worked out a “road map” for Washington-backed Kurdish fighters to leave the northern Syrian city of Manbij near the Turkish border. Accordingly, once the People’s Protection Units (YPG) — which Turkey considers a terrorist organization and an existential threat to its security — evacuate Manbij, Turkish forces would move in and work with US forces already there to provide “stability and security” in the city. The next stage would be to negotiate the YPG's expulsion from lands east of the Euphrates River along Turkey’s border with Syria.

The only problem with this optimistic scenario is that the details are flowing from the Turkish side, while Washington is holding its cards close its chest. A joint statement issued following technical talks May 25 was shorter on specifics than what reporters are being told in Turkey.

The statement read, “The Turkish-US Working Group on Syria met today in Ankara to continue ongoing conversations regarding Syria and other issues of mutual interest and cooperation. The two sides outlined the main contours of a Road Map for their further cooperation in ensuring security and stability in Manbij.” It also noted that Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will consider the recommendations of the working group when they meet June 4 in Washington.

News that the two countries had produced a “road map” is not new, of course. Cavusoglu had referred to one on a number of occasions, but his remarks needed clarifying. When he suggested in March that the sides had arrived at an agreement, it was not fully corroborated by Washington. Cavusoglu had to backpedal, saying he did not mean “an agreement was reached,” but that an “understanding had been reached.”