After announcing the US withdrawal from Syria in the wake of a phone
call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Trump held a
second call days later seeking assurances from Erdogan about what would
happen to the Syrian Kurdish territory Turkey is about to invade.
Trump told Erdogan he was “under pressure,” and needed a pledge
from Erdogan that the Turkish invasion wouldn’t lead to a humanitarian
crisis or destabilize the region. Exactly how this result was envisioned
is unclear.
Erdogan’s pledges weren’t super reassuring either, as he only told Trump
he had no quarrel with Syrian Kurds per se, and reiterated his position
that the Kurdish YPG are terrorists that need to be confronted
militarily.
Yet the YPG is also the de facto regional government of Rojava, the
Syrian Kurdish territory, and invading that region, encompassing one
third of Syria, and destroying that faction through force of arms, can
be expected to both destabilize the region and cause a big humanitarian
crisis.
Trump Sought Assurances From Erdogan About Fate of Syrian Kurds
Wanted Erdogan to promise invasion wouldn't lead to a humanitarian crisis
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
Join the Discussion!
We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.
For more details, please see our Comment Policy.
