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President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Donald Trump talked on Syria in a phone call on Monday night (14 January).
Sharing a tweet about the phone call, Trump said they talked on the issues that he addressed in a tweet a day before, in which he said "[We] will devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds. Create 20 mile safe zone..."
CLICK - 'We Will Devastate Turkey Economically If They Hit Kurds'
The only informative part of the yesterday's tweet was the US President's comment on the economic cooperation between the two countries.
"Spoke w/ President Erdogan of Turkey to advise where we stand on all matters including our last two weeks of success in fighting the remnants of ISIS, and 20 mile safe zone. Also spoke about economic development between the U.S. & Turkey - great potential to substantially expand!" Trump said on Twitter.
Statement from White House
Both parties released written statements after the phone call. In the readout provided by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, it was said,
"President Trump spoke with President Erdoğan today. The two leaders discussed several bilateral issues, including ongoing cooperation in Syria as US forces begin to withdraw, and other topics for future cooperation. The President expressed the desire to work together to address Turkey's security concerns in northeast Syria while stressing the importance to the United States that Turkey does not mistreat the Kurds and other Syrian Democratic Forces with whom we have fought to defeat ISIS."
In the last part of the readout, it was said that US Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford will meet with his counterpart Yaşar Güler to "continue consultations with Turkey on Syria." Ankara also announced that the two generals will meet on Tuesday.
Turkey: A terror-free safe zone in Syria discussed
After the phone call, Presidency of Turkey released a statement before the White House:
"Stating that Turkey welcomes President Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria, President Erdoğan reminded that Turkey, in this regard, stands ready to lend every kind of support to the US, its NATO ally.
"Emphasizing that the Manbij Roadmap should be completed in order to prevent any authority vacuum in the region and that the elements which seek to hinder the implementation of the withdrawal decision should be denied any opportunity, the two leaders touched upon the importance of a healthy communication with the public.
"President Erdoğan and President Trump also discussed the idea of forming a terror-free safe zone in the north of Syria on the basis of Syria's territorial integrity."
In the readout, it was also said, "Erdoğan underlined underlined that Turkey has no problems with the Kurds and that Turkey's goal is to fight against terrorist organizations DAESH, the PKK and the PKK's Syrian branches, which pose a threat to Turkey's national security."
Bilateral economic relations will be advanced
The readout stated that the two leaders agreed to advance the bilateral economic relations.
Donald Trump said in a tweet that if Turkey carries out a military operation against Kurdish forces, they will "devastate Turkey economically."
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in response to Trump, "In a strategic partnership, you do not discuss on Twitter, on social media. As for the threatening language Trump uses, we do not fear any threat."
Çavuşoğlu: Safe zone is our idea, not US'
Çavuşoğlu commented on Trump's tweet yesterday:
"Establishment of a safe zone in Syria is not the US' idea. It was our President's proposal to the Europeans, including the Russians. We brought this up in every meeting. Obama Administration did not find this realistic. They did not support our idea, making up excuses. Now they saw the determination of Turkey, they bring this idea forward." (HK/VK)
