Turkey warns U.S. against vacuum of power in Syria

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Turkey's defense minister told Pentagon officials there must not be a vacuum of power during the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, Anadolu news agency reported on Saturday.

"We reminded our partners that there should be no vacuum of power in any way during the withdrawal," Defence Minister Hulusi Akar told Anadolu, describing his talks in the United States with acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan.

Akar said he repeatedly called for Kurdish YPG militia fighters, which Ankara regards as terrorists, to be removed from the "safe zone," which Turkey wants to control.

His remarks came after a U.S. senior administration official's statement on Friday that Washington would leave about 400 U.S. troops split between two Syrian regions, a reversal by U.S. President Donald Trump that could pave the way for U.S. allies to keep troops in Syria.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks to Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS (ISIL) at the State Department in Washington, DC, February 6, 2019. /VCG Photo

Trump had ordered the withdrawal of all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria in December after he said they had defeated ISIL militants in Syria. The abrupt decision sparked an outcry from allies and U.S. lawmakers and was a factor in Jim Mattis's resignation as defense secretary.

But Trump was persuaded by advisers on Thursday that about 200 U.S. troops would join what is expected to be a total commitment of about 800 to 1,500 troops from European allies to set up and observe a safe zone being negotiated for northeastern Syria, the official told reporters.

About 200 other U.S. troops will remain at the U.S. military outpost of Tanf, near the border with Iraq and Jordan, the official said.

Until now, European allies have balked at providing troops unless they received a firm commitment that Washington was still committed to the region.

Despite the shift, Trump told reporters on Friday “I'm not reversing course” on Syria, arguing the remaining troops would be "a very small, tiny fraction" of the forces who would ensure that ISIL does not regroup.

(Top image: A truck carrying men, identified as ISIL fighters who surrendered to Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as they are being transported out of ISIL's last holdout of Baghouz in Syria's northern Deir Ezzor province, February 20, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters