AP Interview: Syrian Kurds say US seeking deal with Turkey

BEIRUT (AP) - A senior Syrian Kurdish official says the United States is seeking to broker an agreement between her group and Turkey over how to manage northeastern Syria once American troops withdraw.

Ilham Ahmed was in Washington on Tuesday to lobby for a negotiated U.S. troop withdrawal that would secure her forces' continued presence.

Turkey has threatened a military offensive to drive the Kurdish forces from the area. Ankara considers the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, which forms the core of a U.S.-backed force fighting Islamic State militants, to be a terrorist group.

Ahmed, the co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, told The Associated Press the U.S. has focused on "calming" Turkey to find a compromise that would allow her forces to remain.