World: Trump Sharply Warns Turkey Against Military Strikes in Syria

Simmering tensions between Turkey and the United States spilled into the open Wednesday as President Donald Trump warned President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against the growing risk of conflict between the two nations.

The two men spoke by telephone as Turkish forces attacked Kurdish militias in Syria. U.S. officials said they were increasingly uneasy that the campaign against the Islamic State would be seriously undermined by the newest battlefront in a country that has been ravaged by war for nearly seven years.

Trump “urged Turkey to exercise caution and to avoid any actions that might risk conflict between Turkish and American forces,” the White House said. “He reiterated that both nations must focus all parties on the shared goal of achieving the lasting defeat of ISIS,” or the Islamic State.

His tough tone with Erdogan was an abrupt reversal from a White House briefing just a day earlier, where senior administration officials suggested that the United States would side with Turkey, a NATO ally, in disputes with Kurdish forces that have fought the Islamic State with direct support from Washington.

Turkey has fought for decades against Kurdish insurgent groups that Ankara considers terrorist threats. Kurds in the region dream of creating an independent state even as they seek greater political and cultural rights.

In a speech Wednesday, Erdogan said there was no difference between the Islamic State and Kurdish militias, and questioned “the humanity of those who accuse Turkey of being an invader and support an organization that has the blood of tens of thousands of innocent children, women, elderly people and innocents on its hands.”

Even as the White House has sought to strike a balance between Turkey and Kurds in Syria, the Pentagon has maintained its support for the Kurdish militias it has fought with in eastern Syria.

Without logistical support from Kurdish forces, the nearly 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria would be unable to continue in almost any effective role, according to senior military officials. Kurdish militias are expected to play a pivotal role in defeating the last pockets of Islamic State fighters in the country.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

GARDINER HARRIS © 2018 The New York Times

Simmering tensions between Turkey and the United States spilled into the open Wednesday as President Donald Trump warned President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against the growing risk of conflict between the two nations. Read Full Story