Trump made the decision to withdraw US troops from Syria after his phone conversation with Erdogan, who vowed to continue fighting the “Islamic state”

US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria came after his phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he pledged to continue fighting the jihadists, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported.

The phone conversation between the two presidents took place on December 14, and then sources in the Turkish presidency said the two presidents agreed on “more effective cooperation” in Syria.

These discussions followed the threat of Turkey more than once to launch a new offensive in the area east of the Euphrates in Syria against the protection units of the Kurdish people, which is classified by Ankara as “terrorist” group, while Washington is consider it an ally in the war against the organization of the Islamic state.

The Turkish daily Hurriyet quoted the minutes of the call as saying that Trump, who asked his Turkish counterpart, “Will you get rid of the remnants of ISIS if we withdraw from Syria?”.

Erdogan responded by saying “we will take care of it”, reminding his American counterpart that Turkey had already “killed 4,000 fighters” of ISIS during the Shield of Euphrates Operation launched in 2016.

After the call, Trump asked his national security adviser, John Bolton, who was also on the line during the call to “start work” on withdrawal, according to the newspaper “Hurriyet”.

Three days after the call, Bolton called the chief adviser of Erdogan, Ibrahim Kalin, to inform him that, the “preparations are under way to withdraw” US forces, according to the same source.

Trump announced the decision to withdraw some 2,000 US troops in northern Syria, most of them from special forces tasked with targeting the Islamic state organization and training local forces in areas restored from the terrorist organization of the Islamic state, as well as a number of diplomats and staff of the Central Intelligence Agency and the FBI and US State Department, all to start withdraw officially on the nineteenth of the month.

Relations between the United States and Turkey, which have been particularly strained by US support for the Kurdish people’s protection unites in Syria, appear to be in the process of being resolved.

Meanwhile, the former deputy secretary of state, retired general “Mark Kimmitt” has said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, convinced his US counterpart Donald Trump, to develop long-term relations with Turkey, in all his country’s plans on Syria.

Kimmitt said that Turkey, which has one of the largest armies in Europe and NATO, is of great importance to Washington, and that Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria is “a correct step towards developing relations with Ankara”.

“The Turks have fought with us for years in many conflicts, and Washington’s relations with Turkey are very important when compared to its relations with other elements”, he said.

“I think president Trump decision of withdrawing from Syria is very wise decision.

Turkey is an important country for the United States, and the step of withdrawal is a good step to win Turkey back”.

Kimmitt pointed out that the United States accepted the association of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units in northern Syria with the PKK organization, which is classified in Turkey as terrorist, noting that the US support for them was temporary and tactical.

“ISIS is no longer poses a threat to the United States … frankly, ISIS was defeated but it wasn’t destroyed yet”, Kimmitt said.

On the other hand, Turkish Foreign Minister Mouloud Gawish-oglu said that Turkish and US officials will discuss in Washington next January the US withdrawal from Syria and issues related to coordination between the two countries.

On the sidelines of a visit to Malta, Gawish-oglu said that the three groups will meet in Washington DC on January 8 and will discuss the withdrawal of US troops from Syria and ways of coordination between the Turkish and US sides.

The Turkish foreign minister said that he and his American counterpart Mike Pompeo, agreed in the last phone contact between them, the continued coordination between their countries in the next phase.

On the US decision to withdraw from Syria, he pointed out that US President Donald Trump, in his telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the decision to withdraw his troops from Syria, and then announced the decision to withdraw formally after that.

In response to a question on whether Turkey intends to launch an operation against the organization of the Islamic state in the coming days, Gawish-oglu said that there is no difference for Turkey between the organizations of ISIS, PYD/PKK and Gulen movement, stressing that Turkey insists on fighting all terrorist groups.

He stressed that Turkey consider great importance of maintaining the unity and stability of the Syrian territory, and is therefore disturbed by the support given to PYD/PKK.

He pointed out that his country was aiming to end the road map of Manbej (northern Syria) in 90 days, although the signing took place on 4 June last, what has been achieved so far is not satisfactory to Turkey, and considered that the reason is not due to Ankara but to Washington.

On the withdrawal of the arms of the organizations, said Gawish-oglu, Turkey confirms from the outset on the need to take this step, pointing out that the Americans always say that they have serial numbers of these weapons, and they will collect them.

“It is not possible to withdraw all weapons, but we have clearly told the American side what we expect in this regard”, he said.

As for the minister, Turkish-US relations have seen difficult times before, and some issues still remain unresolved, such as handing over the leader of the Gulen organization to Turkey, and cutting off support of PYD/PKK organization.

He added that if the US forces withdrew from Syria, the last case would be resolved.

Speaking of the low exchange rate of the Turkish lira that his country faced recently, Gawish-oglu said that the issue is not only linked to the United States.

“The financial attack that started from London was also backed by some Muslim countries, and it was not just about the United States”, he said.

He added that Trump respect President Erdogan and had a deep friendship with him, as well as love and respect for Turkey, and this was reflected in his phone conversations and bilateral meetings.