Erdogan welcomes US troop withdrawal from Syria

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has welcomed the United States’ announced withdrawal from Syria, temporarily postponing a planned invasion of Syria’s Kurdish-controlled northeastern regions.

Erdogan announced the decision speaking at a rally in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Friday.

"We had decided last week to launch a military incursion in the east of the Euphrates river... Our phone call with President Trump, along with contacts between our diplomats and security officials and statements by the United States, have led us to wait a little longer," said Erdogan.

The Turkish president, however, stressed that the delay was not an “open-ended waiting period.”

"We have postponed our military operation against the east of the Euphrates river until we see on the ground the result of America's decision to withdraw from Syria,” said Erdogan, signaling that a Turkish operation will begin once US troops have left the region.

"In the next months we will see an operational style aimed at removing the YPG (Kurdish People's Protection Units militia) and Daesh (terrorist group) elements on the ground in Syria."

Last week, Erdogan promised a Turkish-led operation against the Kurdish-controlled regions in "the next few days."

The president, however, announced the operation’s delay today just a few days after Trump called for a withdrawal of US troops from Syria, earlier.

SS