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Turkey welcomes US troop withdrawal from Syria: FM

Ersin Çelik
14:20 - 21/12/2018 Cuma
Update: 16:26 - 21/12/2018 Cuma
Turkish FM Cavusoglu in Malta
Turkish FM Cavusoglu in Malta

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Friday stated that Turkey welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.

"With regards to withdrawal decision of the U.S. ... from Syria, we welcome the decision," Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint news conference with his Maltese counterpart Carmelo Abela in the capital Valletta.

Turkey fully supports the territorial integrity of Syria, he added.

Çavuşoğlu further asserted that Turkey has been fighting Daesh "for many years."

"We believe that Daesh is defeated but still we should be very vigilant because Daesh and other radical groups are still on the ground," he said.

Çavuşoğlu also said he and other Turkish officials have already been in touch with U.S. officials "at different levels" on the issue.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered all of the U.S. forces in Syria to withdraw from the country, saying Daesh's defeat was his sole reason for being in the war-torn country.

The U.S. began its air campaign in Syria in 2014, deploying troops to the country to assist in the anti-Daesh fight alongside local partners the year after.

Reports have suggested U.S. forces will leave within 60 to 100 days.

'Turkey asks US not to support terror groups’

Çavuşoğlu said there should not be any vacuum that terror groups, including YPG/PKK, might fulfill in Syria.

"We actually ask our ally U.S. not to support, or engage with another terrorist organization in our fight against Daesh," he said.

The minister said Turkey has eliminated more than 4,000 Daesh terrorists in Syria, Iraq and Turkey.

"Now, we should pay more attention to political process [in Syria]," he said.

Çavuşoğlu added that convening a meeting on a Syrian constitutional committee would be a "crucial step" to reach a political settlement in the country.

Iran, Russia, and Turkey on Tuesday gave the UN a list of possible members of a committee to revise Syria's constitution.

The committee will be formed in late-2018 or early-2019 and will give a fresh push to the peace process, he said.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on protesters with unexpected ferocity.


#Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
#Turkish foreign minister
#Donald Trump
#US troop withdrawal from Syria
#Syria
#Astana
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