Syria withdrawal is conditional: Bolton

President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, said on Sunday that the US military withdrawal from northeastern Syria is conditioned on defeating the remnants of the Daesh group, and on Turkey assuring the safety of Kurdish fighters allied with the United States.

Bolton, who travelled to Israel to reassure the US ally of the Trump-ordered withdrawal, said there is no timetable for the pullout of American forces in northeastern Syria, but insisted it’s not an unlimited commitment.

“There are objectives that we want to accomplish that condition the withdrawal,” Bolton told reporters in occupied Jerusalem. “The timetable flows from the policy decisions that we need to implement.”

Those conditions, he said, included the defeat of remnants of Daesh in Syria, and protections for Kurdish militias who have fought alongside US troops against the extremist group.

Bolton’s comments mark the first public confirmation that the drawdown has been slowed.

Bolton, who is to travel on to Turkey on Monday, said the US is insisting that its Kurdish allies in the fight against the Daesh group are protected from any planned Turkish offensive. He is to deliver a warning to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week.

“We don’t think the Turks ought to undertake military action that’s not fully coordinated

with and agreed to by the United States,” Bolton said.

Trump has stated that he would “not allow Turkey to kill the Kurds”, Bolton said. “That’s what the president said, the ones that fought with us.”

Bolton said the US has asked its Kurdish allies to “stand fast now” and refrain from seeking protection from Russia or Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s government. He said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford would continue negotiations with his Turkish counterparts this week to seek protection for America’s Kurdish allies in Syria. —