U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter Daesh Brett McGurk shared his gratitude on the cooperation between Ankara and Washington in the Manbij deal, a move which has contradicted his previous supportive attitude toward the PKK's Syrian affiliate, the People's Protection Units (YPG).

"We concluded a road map with Turkey, and our discussions with them have been fruitful and productive, and we look forward to those to continue," McGurk said during a meeting in Morocco on Tuesday.

Though McGurk emphasized the importance of a road map with Turkey, he is also known for his ongoing stance to strengthen the existence of the PKK's Syrian affiliate, the YPG.

During Barack Obama's presidency, McGurk paid a visit to Kobani and held talks with YPG terrorists in February 2016. Photos of McGurk's visit to Kobani also surfaced on social media channels.

McGurk also expressed his condolences over the death of top Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander Abu Layla in June 2016, while saying on his official Twitter account that, "[Our] prayers are with FSA commander Abu Layla who lost his life in ongoing operations to liberate his hometown of Manbij from ISIS [Daesh] terrorists."

The U.S. has supported the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria, which is dominated by the YPG, under the pretext of the fight against Daesh.

Washington's support of the YPG has vexed Ankara and strained bilateral ties with Washington.

Turkey and the U.S. issued a joint statement and announced a road map for Manbij on June 4, which will lead to the withdrawal of YPG terrorists from Manbij.

The following days saw the beginnings of the road map created by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo being implemented.

The U.S. and Turkish defense officials met recently as part of an ongoing dialogue on the implementation of the Manbij plan and discussed its second phase, which involves joint patrols in Manbij.