Asked by reporters Wednesday at the White House what he’d do if Erdogan wipes out the Kurds, Trump said: “I will wipe out his economy if that happens,” adding that he hopes the Turkish leader “will act rationally'
-- Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan formally announced the beginning of a military offensive into northeastern Syria, three days after President Donald Trump said the U.S. wouldn’t stand in the way.
Separately, a U.S. official said American forces in northern Syria are hunkered down as the Turkish incursion proceeds. That means they’ve also halted anti-Islamic State operations. At the same time, the official says the U.S. sees signs that Kurdish civilians in northern Syria are mobilizing to fight Turkish forces.Turkey launched ground incursion into northeastern Syria to force U.S.-backed Kurdish militants away from its border, the Defense Ministry said, after the U.S.
‘We ask the international community and all countries in the international coalition against Daesh, who we fought together against and won, to carry out their responsibilities and prevent an imminent humanitarian disaster, the SDF said in a statement. The ministry also said the operation began at 4 p.m. local time, meaning Turkey started informing some of these countries about the incursion roughly two hours before its so-called “Peace Spring” operation began.Russian President Vladimir Putin cautioned Erdogan as the Turkish military began its operation. Putin stressed “the importance of guaranteeing the unity and territorial integrity of Syria and respect for its sovereignty,” a Kremlin statement said.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump threatens Turkey with 'extremely decimated economy' over SyriaTrump says he told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey could suffer the ‘wrath of an extremely decimated economy’ if it acted in Syria in a way that was not ‘humane’
Read more »
After backlash, Trump defends Syria moves as he both praises and threatens TurkeyPresident Donald Trump on Tuesday tried to strike a delicate balance between Turkey and the U.S.-allied Syrian Kurds.
Read more »
After GOP backlash, Trump defends Syria moves as he both praises and threatens TurkeyPresident Donald Trump on Tuesday defended himself against the accusation he has abandoned Kurdish fighters in Syria as Turkey prepares for an invasion -- using a series of tweets to lavish praise both on the Kurds and Turkey.
Read more »
Turkey invades Syria to battle Kurds after US moves forces; Trump calls it 'bad idea'Smoke rises after a Turkish bombardment in a Syrian town along the Turkish border, part of Turkey's long-planned military operation targeting the Syrian Kurdish fighters that helped the U.S. defeat ISIS.
Read more »
Caught Between Trump, Turkey and Kurds, Pentagon Struggles to Piece Together Syria StrategyWASHINGTON -- For nine months, the Pentagon played down the presence of its 1,000 troops in Syria, hoping that President Donald Trump would not focus on the extent to which the U.S. military was continuing to fight the Islamic State despite his order in December to pull out.On Sunday, the president appeared
Read more »
Turkey poised for Syria safe zone operation as Trump defends troop pulloutAnkara says a military operation in northeastern Syria will secure the border region from terrorists, and establish a peace corridor to resettle potentially millions of displaced Syrians.
Read more »