German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has called on the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to a prudent approach in the neighboring country Syria. Merkel had expressed in a telephone conversation with Erdogan, the expectation that “Turkey with restraint and responsibility will respond to the announced withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria,” said Deputy government spokeswoman Martina Fietz.
The two leaders had agreed that the jihadists militia Islamic state (IS) was not yet defeated. “The IS was pushed by the joint Action back to stay, but a significant risk that required further attention,” the Deputy government spokesperson, the content of that conversation.
Merkel and Erdogan stood out from the assessment of U.S. President Donald Trump. This had justified the withdrawal of the U.S. troops in order that the IS be defeated and a use therefore no longer required. The announced US withdrawal could leave a vacuum of power, especially in the North of Syria. There, Kurdish militias are active, which had asked the government in Damascus for fear of a Turkish Offensive after the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops.
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Announced US withdrawal, Russia and Turkey wish to cooperate in Syria
The presence of Kurdish militants Turkey is a thorn in the eye, because you want to prevent an end-to-end Kurdish region across its southern border. Erdogan had recently announced a military offensive to expel the militias from the Region. (AFP)
