WASHINGTON, October 8. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will arrive in the United States and hold talks with US leader Donald Trump, the US president said via Twitter on Tuesday.
"He [Erdogan] is coming to the U.S. as my guest on November 13th," Trump wrote. He also praised the importance of US-Turkish relations, calling Ankara "a big trading partner of the United States."
"So many people conveniently forget that Turkey is a big trading partner of the United States, in fact they make the structural steel frame for our F-35 Fighter Jet. They have also been good to deal with, helping me to save many lives at [Syria’s] Idlib Province, and returning, in very good health, at my request, Pastor [Andrew] Brunson, who had many years of a long prison term remaining. Also remember, and importantly, that Turkey is an important member in good standing of NATO," the US leader pointed out, reiterating that it is high time Washington came out of endless wars.
So many people conveniently forget that Turkey is a big trading partner of the United States, in fact they make the structural steel frame for our F-35 Fighter Jet. They have also been good to deal with, helping me to save many lives at Idlib Province, and returning, in very.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2019
On Sunday, Erdogan and Trump had a phone call when the leaders agreed on a meeting in Washington in November, the Turkish president’s office said earlier.
Won’t abandon Kurds
Noting that the US "may be in the process of leaving Syria," Trump stressed that Washington is not abandoning Kurds in any way. "Turkey already has a large Kurdish population and fully understands that while we only had 50 soldiers remaining in that section of Syria, and they have been removed, any unforced or unnecessary fighting by Turkey will be devastating to their economy and to their very fragile currency. We are helping the Kurds financially/weapons!" Trump concluded.
....understands that while we only had 50 soldiers remaining in that section of Syria, and they have been removed, any unforced or unnecessary fighting by Turkey will be devastating to their economy and to their very fragile currency. We are helping the Kurds financially/weapons!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2019
On October 1, Erdogan announced that Ankara intends to unilaterally establish a security zone on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in Syria since Turkey had failed to achieve desirable results at talks with the US. On October 6, Erdogan had a phone call with Trump, after which the White House announced that it would not support Ankara or take part in any way in the Turkish military operation in northern Syria, while US troops would not be staged anywhere near the operation site.
On October 7, the Turkish leader revealed that the United States had begun withdrawing troops from northeastern Syria, where Ankara intends to carry out an operation to create the security zone.