Trump accused of undermining officials by endorsing Turkish attack
US president compares Kurdish forces to Isil and claims that the offensive is ‘strategically brilliant’
DONALD TRUMP was accused of undermining his own diplomats when he appeared to endorse Turkey’s offensive into northern Syria and compared the Kurdish groups they claim to be fighting to Isil. Speaking as Mike Pence, the US vice-president, and Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, flew into Ankara for emergency talks to persuade Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s president, to halt his offensive, Mr Trump said the Kurdish forces US troops had recently fought alongside were “no angels”.
“The PKK is probably ... more of a terrorist threat in many ways than Isis,” he said at the White House.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is classified as a terrorist organisation by most Nato states.
Turkey says the YPG, the dominant Kurdish group in the militia that fought alongside US troops to defeat Isil, is an extension of the PKK. Turkey launched an offensive into Syria to crush the group after Mr Trump ordered US forces out of northern Syria last week.
Mr Trump’s comments were greeted with disbelief by senior US officials. Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator for South Carolina, described them as “a complete and utter national security disaster in the making”.
It also emerged last night that Mr Trump had sent Mr Erdoğan a stern letter, dated last Wednesday, warning him over the invasion of Syria.
“History will look upon you favourably if you get this done the right and humane way,” Mr Trump wrote. “It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don’t happen. Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool!”
Meanwhile, a Democratic congressional leadership meeting with Mr Trump to discuss Syrian policy broke down in acrimony yesterday.
The Democrats left the meeting early, accusing Mr Trump of having a “meltdown” and having gone on a “nasty diatribe”. Republicans criticised the Democrats for walking out.
The latest developments followed a day of reverses to US credibility in the Middle East with Mr Erdoğan publicly defying US calls to halt his offensive and agree to talks with Vladimir Putin.
In an address to Turkey’s parliament later, he said: “There are some leaders who are trying to mediate… There has never been any such thing in the history of the Turkish republic as the state sitting at the same table with a terror organisation. Our proposal is for the terrorists to lay down their arms, leave their equipment, destroy the traps … and leave the safe zone we designated, as of tonight … If this is done, our operation will end by itself.”
Heavy fighting between Kurdish and Turkish-backed forces continued in
‘The PKK … is probably worse … and more of a terrorist threat in many ways than Isis’
the key border city of Ras al-ain yesterday, and Kurdish officials said Turkey resumed shelling around the city of Derick. Meanwhile, authorities in neighbouring Iraqi Kurdistan said 800 refugees had fled across the border.
The UN estimates more than 160,000 people have been displaced since the Turkish offensive began on Oct 9.
Mr Trump’s withdrawal from Syria has upended the geopolitical balance in the region, leaving Russia as the undisputed power-broker in Syria and poised to fill a vacuum left by the US across the Middle East.
The formerly Us-allied Kurdish leadership announced it had agreed to align with Russia and the Syrian government to try to halt the Turkish attack.
Syrian government troops and Russian forces started patrols in areas abandoned by US forces on Tuesday.
Yesterday, they entered Kobani, the strategic border town where Kurdish and US forces first defeated Isil in 2015.
The Kremlin said Mr Erdoğan accepted an invitation to Moscow in the coming days during a phone call with Mr Putin on Tuesday night.
The two presidents discussed the need to “prevent conflict between units of the Turkish army and Syrian government armed forces”, it said on its website. It said Mr Putin also warned Mr Erdoğan that it would be “unacceptable” to allow Isil prisoners held by the Kurds to exploit the chaos unfolding on the ground.
Mr Trump defended his decision yesterday, saying: “I view the situation on the Turkish border with Syria to be, for the US, strategically brilliant. Turkey has gone into Syria. If Turkey goes into Syria, that’s between Turkey and Syria – it’s not between Turkey and the United States, like a lot of stupid people would like you to believe.”