Responding to a question on Turkey’s declared intention to expand the cross-border offensive to Manbij, a town controlled by Kurdish-Arab SDF, Pahon said: “We sure hope that the Turks won’t pass Afrin to Manbij. We are really concerned about this. It is a huge distraction from all of the work we have put in so far. We really want people to remain focused on the defeat of IS. We understand Turkey has these very serious concerns about the terrorism and terrorist groups near and on their borders. We are fully aware of that. We are working with Turkey as much as we possibly can but this operation has a big potential to distract from or to cause us to lose some of the gains we had against IS.”

When asked about the possibility of a clash between Turkish and U.S. troops in northern Syria, the spokesperson said: “Turkey is a key NATO ally. We are in discussions with Turkey. We have a [military] relationship since the mid-1950s. We have not had a clash with the Turkish forces and we hope to keep it that way. We intend that it will stay that way. We are talking to our Turkish counterparts at all levels of the government and we are walking through this.”

“The communication is ongoing. We are working on it. Diplomacy is always key in any kind of complex battlefield especially if the battlefield is as complex as Syria,” he also said.

Pahon also echoed U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander General Joseph Votel by saying they have no plans to leave Manbij.

“The Turks have been very very helpful in helping to de-escalate the situations. If there is any kind of clash or gunfire, it has been helpful to be able to communicate with the Turkish military,” he said about recent tensions between the SDF and other opposition forces backed by Turkey.

Reporter’s code: 50101