Türkiye summons U.S. envoy over top general's visit to Kurdish-held Syria

ANKARA, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned the U.S. ambassador to Ankara for the visit of a top U.S. commander to a Kurdish-held area in northeastern Syria, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.

Ankara "asked for an explanation" regarding the visit of Mark Milley, U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to northeastern Syria on March 4, the agency quoted anonymous Turkish diplomatic sources as saying.

Milley met U.S. troops stationed there under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

Tensions between Ankara and Washington have long simmered over the U.S. backing of the YPG in northern Syria. The Kurdish fighters cooperated with Washington in operations against the Islamic State, but Ankara has long been asking the U.S. to cease its partnership with the YPG.

Ankara sees the Kurdish group as the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for over three decades.