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US President Donald Trump has said that "some tough love needed" to reach an agreement with Turkey on its operation in northern Syria.
"This deal could never have been made three days ago. There needed to be some 'tough' love in order to get it done. Great for everybody. Proud of all!" he tweeted.
This deal could NEVER have been made 3 days ago. There needed to be some "tough" love in order to get it done. Great for everybody. Proud of all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2019
Trump's tweets came after a meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US Vice-President Mike Pence in the capital Ankara, which resulted in a 120-hour pause in the Operation Peace Spring that was launched on October 9.
Erdoğan replied to a previous tweet by Trump, saying, "Mr. President, many more lives will be saved when we defeat terrorism, which is humanity's arch enemy. I am confident that this joint effort will promote peace and stability in our region."
Mr. President, many more lives will be saved when we defeat terrorism, which is humanity's arch enemy. I am confident that this joint effort will promote peace and stability in our region.
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) October 17, 2019
"I let them fight like kids"
Trump spoke at a campaign rally in Texas a few hours after the agreement, saying he let Turkey and the Kurds "fight like kids" and then "pulled them apart."
Defending his decision to pull US troops out of Syria, Trump remarked, "It was unconventional what I did. Sometimes you have to let them fight for a little while. Sometimes you have to let them fight like two kids. Then you pull them apart. They fought for a few days and it was pretty vicious."
WATCH: President Trump on Turkey attacking the Kurds: "Sometimes you have to let them fight, like two kids in a lot. You have to let them fight, and then you pull them apart!" pic.twitter.com/rSgu1U3ERu
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) October 18, 2019
Trump added that "the Kurds will pull back a little" and the fight against ISIS will continue.
Brett McGurk, the US President's previous special envoy to Syria, described Trump's remarks about "two kids" fighting as "obscene and ignorant."
200k innocent people displaced. Hundreds dead. Credible reports of war crimes. ISIS prisoners escaping. US evacuating and bombing its own positions or handing them to Russia. Two kids in a lot?" he said on Twitter. (AS/VK)
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