ISTANBUL: Some Syrian Kurdish militia fighters remain west of the Euphrates river despite promises to move to the east, which is unacceptable, Turkey's EU minister Omer Celik told the state-run Anadolu news agency Wednesday.

Responding to suggestions Turkey had reached a ceasefire agreement with the Kurdish fighters in Syria, Celik said the Syrian Kurdish PYD was a terrorist organisation and Turkey a sovereign nation, meaning it could not strike such a deal.