Washington praises Turkish-Kurdish 'truce' denied by Ankara

Washington applauded a truce announced between Turkish forces and Kurdish militias fighting in Syria on Tuesday, despite Ankara neither confirming nor denying reports of the alleged ceasefire.

The US, which is a firm ally of the warring factions battling in northern Syria, has anxiously watched as both forces seemingly neglected the fight against the Islamic State group.

"The United States welcomes the overnight calm between the Turkish military and other counter-ISIL forces in Syria," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, using another acronym for the militant group.

The period of calm had lasted 12 to 18 hours, US State Department spokesman John Kirby said, urging for a longer truce to allow forces to refocus on battling IS militants in the region.

On Tuesday, the US defence official said that Turkish and US-backed Kurdish forces in northern Syria had reached a "loose agreement" to stop fighting each other - a claim confirmed by a spokesman for the pro-Kurdish forces.

However, a commander in one of the Turkish-backed Syrian rebel groups that have clashed with Syrian Democratic Forces-allied groups south of Jarabulus said there was no ceasefire, only a pause in the military operation.

"There is no truce and no ceasefire. But there has been a pause for some time," he said, adding that the operation would resume shortly Reuters reported.

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Furthermore, a statement by the Turkish foreign ministry said it was still waiting for the US to fulfill its commitment that there would be no Kurdish fighters on the west of Euphrates.

"We are waiting for the immediate realisation of the commitment the US forwarded to us that there will not be any PYD/YPG elements in the west of Euphrates after the Manbij operation," foreign ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said.

Multiple world leaders, including France’s Hollande, warned Turkey against fighting the rebels in Syria, noting the operation could further inflame the conflict.

The Turkish foreign ministry hit back against critics on Tuesday, dubbing comments as "unacceptable".

"The statements of US officials about the content and the targets of the Euphrates Shield operation ... are unacceptable and are not in line with the alliance between the two countries," a foreign ministry spokesman said, adding that a complaint had been filed with the US ambassador to Turkey.

"Our ally, the US, promised before the operation to rid Manbij of Daesh (IS) that PYD/YPG elements would not remain west of the Euphrates and we await the fulfilment of this commitment as soon as possible," the ministry said in a statement.

Turkey sees the YPG as a "terrorist" offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a deadly insurgency on Turkish territory for over three decades.