US President Donald Trump did not discuss in advance his decision to withdraw US troops from Syria with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a senior US official told reporters on Wednesday.
“President [Trump] and President Erdogan speak regularly,” the official said on Wednesday. “The President had made his own decision. It was not something he discussed with President Erdogan. He has informed President Erdogan of his decision as a neighbor of Syria. Obviously, it's going to be an important issue for Turkey but this was not a topic of discussion, it was informational.”
Meanwhile, the United States will continue to vigorously utilize all tools available to affect the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Iranian supporters after the American troops are withdrawn from the Middle Eastern country, a senior administration official told reporters.
“We will continue to robustly employ the broader tools that we have across the government to try to affect the behavior the Assad regime, of his Iranian enablers,” the official said on Wednesday.
Turkey, Russia to Play Stronger Roles In Syria After US Troops Pullout — SNC
On Tuesday, the White House announced removal of all troops deployed in Syria, and the Pentagon said they have already started the process of returning US servicemen home. All State Department staff will evacuate from Syria within 24 hours, and the armed forces will be…
