Trump speaks with Erdogan one day after threatening to ‘devastate’ Turkey’s economy
President Donald Trump and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed “ongoing cooperation in Syria as U.S. forces begin to withdraw” during a phone call Monday, one day after Mr. Trump threatened to “devastate Turkey economically” if the NATO-allied country attacks Kurds in the region.
“The president expressed the desire to work together to address Turkey’s security concerns in northeast Syria while stressing the importance to the United States that Turkey does not mistreat the Kurds and other Syrian Democratic Forces with whom we have fought to defeat [the Islamic State terrorist group],” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement about the call.
Ms. Sanders noted that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford will meet with his Turkish counterpart on Tuesday at NATO headquarters in Brussels “to continue consultations” on Syria.
During Monday’s call, Mr. Erdogan told Mr. Trump that Turkey backs the president’s withdrawal decision and extends support to the U.S., according to state news agency Anadolu.
The Turkish state news agency said Mr. Erdogan emphatically told Mr. Trump that Turkey does not have any problems with the Kurds and that “Turkey aims to fight all terror organizations including IS, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its cross-border extensions that are threat to its national security.”
The two leaders agreed on developing bilateral economic relations to a higher level, according to the report.
On Sunday, Mr. Trump tweeted: “Starting the long overdue pullout from Syria while hitting the little remaining [IS] territorial caliphate hard, and from many directions. Will attack again from existing nearby base if it reforms.”
He added, “Will devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds,” but he followed up in a second tweet, “Likewise, do not want the Kurds to provoke Turkey.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu responded to Mr. Trump’s comments Monday.
“As for Donald Trump’s threat language, we have repeatedly said that we will not be afraid of any threat . ... You cannot have any result from threatening Turkey economically. We need to see how we can solve this problem together. There is economic difficulties on one side and terror on the other,” he said.
Mr. Cavusoglu also insisted that Turkey is not an enemy of the Kurds.
However, Turkey views some Kurdish groups in the region as terrorist organizations, and Kurds make up the majority of U.S.-allied fighters operating in Syria in the civil war against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.