Biden in Ankara: Kurds must withdraw immediately to east bank of Euphrates

US Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday during a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in Ankara that Syrian Kurdish forces will lose US support if they don't withdraw to the east bank of the Euphrates. "We have made it absolutely clear…that they must go back across the river. They cannot, will not and under no circumstances get American support if they do not keep that commitment. Period," he said.  
DEBKAfile: Biden's statement shows that the US has accepted all of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's terms regarding the Kurds and exposed them to a Turkish military attack if they fail to withdraw. Just last week, the US did not respond to a similar Turkish demand immediately after the capture of the northern Syrian city of Manbij from ISIS by a joint force made up of Kurdish fighters and US officers from special forces units. Washington has now changed its position.