US Defense Secretary: We focus on making security mechanism effective in N, E Syria

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper held a news conference on Saturday on the whole of the Middle East, including Turkish threats to invade northern and eastern Syria and its impact on the war against ISIS.

Esper asked: "Is the Defense Department preparing to withdraw all US troops from Syria if Turkey launches a major incursion?" Esper said, "We are now focusing on making the security mechanism effective in northeastern Syria."

"I had a long conversation with my counterpart, Turkish Defense Minister Kholosi Akar, and that was the focus of our discussion, and I made it clear," he said. "Akar also agreed that we need to make the security mechanism effective."

"As you know, we have a joint center and we work in (southern Turkey), we have continuous air patrols, we have another ground patrol. We have to work through all the details," he added. "This is the best way forward for everyone, and that's what I am focusing on now," he said.

Esper also expressed concern about ISIS prisoners held by the SDF, and said that due to the latter's limited possibilities of guarding these prisons, especially since there are Turkish threats to invade northern Syria, the SDF's leaving to guard these prisons is cause for concern.

Esper stressed that they need sustained action on ISIS prisoners held by SDF and said that framing the SDF's work on prison custody is unsustainable, and that European countries must retrieve ISIS citizens.

J.O