President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in an article published in The New York Times late Monday that Donald Trump made the right call to withdraw US troops from Syria.
“President Trump made the right call to withdraw from Syria. The United States withdrawal, however, must be planned carefully and performed in cooperation with the right partners to protect the interests of the United States, the international community and the Syrian people,” Erdoğan wrote.
“TURKEY WILL ENSURE ITS OWN SAFETY”
“I say this again: There will be no victory for the terrorists. Turkey will continue to do what it must to ensure its own safety and the well-being of the international community.” Erdoğan said. “Militarily speaking, the so-called Islamic State has been defeated in Syria. Yet we are deeply concerned that some outside powers may use the organization’s remnants as an excuse to meddle in Syria’s internal affairs.”
“THERE ARE LESSONS TO LEARN FROM IRAQ”
Erdoğan also warned that the international community should avoid making the same mistakes as in Iraq. “A military victory against the terrorist group is a mere first step. The lesson of Iraq, where this terrorist group was born, is that premature declaration of victory and the reckless actions they tend to spur create more problems than they solve. The international community cannot afford to make the same mistake again today.”