Turkish Foreign Minister Believes Trump Considers Leaving Syria

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th December, 2018) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu expressed his belief on Sunday that US President Donald Trump was considering the possibility of withdrawing troops from Syria.

On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara was ready to launch an operation in the northern Syrian city of Manbij against the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers to be an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), outlawed in Turkey as a terrorist organization, if the United States does not withdraw the Kurdish militia from the area.

"President [Donald] Trump, I think, is now considering leaving Syria once again," Cavusoglu said at the Doha Forum.

Ankara has expressed concerns over US support for the Kurdish militia and repeatedly accused Washington of failing to fulfill its promises regarding the YPG's withdrawal from Manbij.

The Doha Forum, which was established in 2000, serves as a global platform for debates on major challenges that the international community faces today. This year's two-day event started on Saturday.