Trump warns Turkey of economic devastation
US CAUTIONS ANKARA AGAINST ATTACKING KURDS IN SYRIA
US President Donald Trump threatened Turkey with economic devastation if it attacks a US-allied Kurdish militia in Syria, drawing a sharp rebuke from Ankara yesterday and reviving fears of another downturn in ties between the Nato allies.
Trump said on Sunday the US was starting the military pullout from Syria that he announced in December but that it would continue to hit Daesh fighters there. “Will attack again from existing nearby base if it reforms. Will devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds. Create 20 mile safe zone... Likewise, do not want the Kurds to provoke Turkey,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
Hours later, Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the establishment of the secure zone. Speaking by phone, the two emphasised the need to complete a roadmap regarding Syria’s border town of Manbij, as well to avoid giving any opportunity to elements seeking to block the planned withdrawal of US forces.
In Riyadh, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he did not think the threat would change plans to withdraw troops from Syria. Asked what Trump meant by economic devastation, he said: “You’ll have to ask the president. We have applied economic sanctions in many places, I assume he is speaking about those kinds of things.”
Relations between the US and Turkey have long been strained by Washington’s support for the Kurdish YPG, which Turkey views as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that is waging a decades-long insurgency in Turkey.
Jordan’s king was the first Arab leader to visit Baghdad after Saddam’s fall
Jordanian King Abdullah met Iraqi President Barham Saleh in Baghdad yesterday, according to state television, in the monarch’s first trip to Iraq in more than a decade.
The visit is the latest in a string of top-level diplomatic encounters in Iraq in recent weeks, which kicked off with a surprise Christmas trip by US President Donald Trump.
King Abdullah’s last trip to Iraq was in 2008, when he became the first Arab leader to visit Baghdad after strongman Saddam Hussain was toppled by the US-led invasion in 2003.
Saleh travelled to Jordan in November.
The two countries share a 179-kilometre border, and Jordan is a major importer of Iraqi crude oil.
In 2013, they agreed on a 1,700-kilometre pipeline linking Iraq’s oil-rich Basra province to Jordan’s Aqaba port, but Daesh’s sweep across nearly a third of Iraq put a screeching halt to the plan.
Last year, Jordan approved a framework to revive it, but did not give a timeframe for the line’s construction.
The two states have also discussed plans for Iraq to import around 300 megawatts of electricity from Jordan to cope with widespread power shortages.
Energy needs
Currently, Baghdad relies heavily on its eastern neighbour Iran, importing around 1,300 megawatts of electricity and 28 million cubic metres of natural gas to feed power plants.
Washington, which sees Tehran as its top foe in the region, is keen to break those ties.
It reimposed tough sanctions on Iran in November but has granted Iraq a temporary waiver on energy imports, while urging it to partner with US firms instead.
“Everyone is looking to Iraq as a virgin land requiring more investment by regional and international powers,” said Iraqi political analyst Issam Al Faily.
“Jordan has a real desire to stretch an oil pipeline from Basra to the Aqaba port because it would fulfil its fuel needs,” he told AFP.
Iraq has witnessed a revolving door of diplomatic visits since Trump’s late December visit.