WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the Syrian government is maintaining control over some of the world’s "worst" terrorist prisoners after it recaptured dozens of ISIS (Daesh) detainees released by the YPG/SDF group.

In response to a question by Anadolu on the latest developments in Syria, Trump said during a news briefing at the White House that efforts by Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and his government were aimed at keeping "the terrorist prisoners, which are some of the worst in the world, at bay."

Trump praised al-Sharaa, saying he was working "very hard."

"I spoke with him yesterday because we were talking about the prisons, and ... we have some of the worst terrorists in the world in those prisons," he added.

On Sunday evening, al-Sharaa announced a ceasefire and an agreement for full integration of the SDF/YPG into state institutions.

Earlier, Trump said the Syrian government had recaptured all ISIS prisoners who escaped after the YPG/SDF terror group released them from detention, crediting Washington's cooperation with Damascus.

The Syrian presidency said early Tuesday that a “mutual understanding” has been reached with the SDF regarding the future of the eastern Hasakah province.

The Defense Ministry also announced a four-day ceasefire with the SDF, which took effect at 8 pm local time (1700GMT).

Trump also said on Tuesday that the US is trying to "protect" the Kurds in Syria.

"I like the Kurds, but just so you understand, the Kurds were paid tremendous amounts of money, were given oil and other things. So, they were doing it for themselves, more so than they were doing for us.

"But we get along with the Kurds, and we are trying to protect the Kurds," he said.

Separately, Trump noted that after the briefing, he would have a "very important" phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "who I like a lot."

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Tuesday voiced Ankara's support for the agreement between the Syrian government and SDF, just as it supported an earlier agreement in March last year.

He said Türkiye has always been at the forefront of the fight against the terrorist group ISIS and would continue to advance this effort in close cooperation with Syria’s administration.

Fidan also said he had recently spoken with US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack to discuss his impressions from talks in Syria.