White House national security adviser John Bolton stated a new condition on Sunday to the US withdrawal from Syria, saying Turkey must agree to protect the United States’ Kurdish allies- which Turkey called YPG terrorists.
Bolton, on a trip to Israel and Turkey, said he would stress in talks with Turkish officials, including President Tayyip Erdoğan, that YPG terror forces must be protected.
Ahead of talks with Israeli officials, he told reporters the pullout would be done in a way that guaranteed the Daesh terror group “is defeated and is not able to revive itself and become a threat again.”
“WE WILL MAKE SURE THE DEFENSE OF ISRAEL IS ASSURED”
And it would be carried out in such a way as to “make sure that the defense of Israel and our other friends in the region is absolutely assured, and to take care of those who have fought with us against ISIS and other terrorist groups.” Asked whether a US withdrawal would not take place in Syria until Turkey guaranteed the Kurdish fighters would be safe, Bolton said: “Basically, that’s right.”
Trump, who has declared the battle won against the Daesh militants and just two weeks ago said he refused military entreaties for more time, said Sunday that he remained committed to the withdrawal but told reporters: “I never said we’re doing it that quickly.”