Turkey on Friday welcomed the United States' decision to pull all its troops from Syria and declared that it postponed an operation into the east of Euphrates River in the war-torn country.
Moreover, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a recent deal with his U.S. counterpart for eliminating what's left of ISIL in Syria by the Turkish army.
"We welcome the U.S. decision of withdrawal from Syria. We must coordinate the pullout with the U.S., there should not be vacuum. From now on we should focus on political solution," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Malta.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during Turkey-Iran Business Forum at Cankaya Palace in Ankara, Turkey, December 20, 2018. /VCG Photo
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Wednesday in a tweet that there would be an imminent U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria as he claimed that ISIL had been defeated.
Erdogan revealed Friday that Trump had asked him if the Turkish army would be able to eliminate remaining ISIL fighters in Syria in the case that the U.S. pulls its troops out of the country.
The Turkish president was referring to his phone conversation with Trump on December 14 when the U.S. president reportedly made his final decision for withdrawal from Syria.
Erdogan on Friday said he told Trump that Turkey was ready and determined to get rid of "any kind of terrorists that would pose a threat against its border."
Citing an anonymous Turkish official who is familiar with the phone conversation, daily Hurriyet reported on Friday that Erdogan reminded Trump that the Turkish army has "cleared" 4,000 ISIL members in Syria and stressed the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) was not "genuine" in the fight against the jihadist groups.
Syrian Kurdish members of the People's Protection Units (YPG) attend the funeral of a slain Kurdish commander in the northeastern city of Qamishli, December 6, 2018. /VCG Photo
The U.S. president agreed and ordered his National Security Adviser John Bolton to "start the work" for the pullout from Syria even when Erdogan was still on the phone, according to the daily.
The phone conversation was only two days after Erdogan declared that Turkey would launch a military operation in the east of the Euphrates River in Syria to "clear the YPG group," which the U.S. had been backing and arming for fighting against ISIL in Syria.
But on Friday, Erdogan announced Turkey postponed its military campaign into Syria after the phone conversation with Trump.
"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. Obviously, this is not an open-ended waiting period," he added.
The U.S. support for the Syrian Kurdish group has been at the center of tension between the two NATO allies since Turkey regards the YPG as a Syrian affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU.
Syrian Kurds demonstrators wave signs and chant slogans as they march with Kurdish flags and other flags showing a portrait of Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, in the northeastern city of Qamishli, September 20, 2018. /VCG Photo
But Trump's move is likely to thaw the ties between the two countries, and could pave the way for further bilateral cooperation in Syria.
Despite the previous disappointment, "diplomacy with the U.S. is coming to the desired level now," Erdogan said.
"President Trump and I have seen that we thought similarly and shared the same views on a range of issues related to the Syrian question. Yet the practice to the ground was overdue and difficult. Finally, in recent days, we have been able to hear the clearest and most encouraging statements to date from the U.S. administration," he said.
Despite all the statements from the U.S. regarding retreat of soldiers, "Ankara is cautious," said Hande Firat, daily Hurriyet commentator.
Firat, in her column on Friday, stressed that it's known that the Pentagon is against this withdrawal and added that Ankara still questions if the whole administration agrees with the idea.
U.S. forces, accompanied by Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters, drive their armored vehicles near the northern Syrian village of Darbasiyah, on the border with Turkey, April 28, 2017. /VCG Photo
The Turkish government will follow a wait-and-see process, and revising military operation plans will require further military and political talks between Ankara and Washington, said Naim Baburoglu, a security expert from Aydin University.
If Washington realizes its pullout, Turkey will eliminate a risk of confrontation with U.S. troops in case of a military campaign against the YPG, he added.