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Published 01:04 IST, October 9th 2019

Donald Trump: 'We are not abandoning Kurds, helping them financially'

The Trump administration started withdrawing its troops from the border between Turkey & Syria after Turkey threatened military air & ground operation in Syria

Reported by: Manjiri Chitre
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US President Donald Trump on Tuesday stated that even though his troops are in the process of withdrawing themselves from the northeastern part of Syria, it is not abandoning the Kurds in Syria. He further stated that the administration is helping the Kurds financially and with weapons. The Trump administration started withdrawing its troops from the border between Turkey and Syria after Turkey threatened military air and ground operation in Syria. 

The US withdraws troops from Syria's border

The United States started withdrawing its troops from Syria's borders with Turkey after the White House made the announcement on Sunday. According to reports, the decision was made just after the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated, Ankara would kick-off a military air and ground operation in Syria in the next few days. Further reports suggest that the Trump administration wanted to wash its hands off the explosive situation between the Turkish military and the US-allied Kurdish forces. According to reports, currently, over 1,000 troops had been deployed in northeastern Syria, where they work with the Kurdish YGP.

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Nikki Haley slams Trump administration

Just after the White House announced its decision to withdraw the US troops from Syria's border, Trump's former envoy to the United Nations, Indian-American Nikki Haley slammed the Trump administration on Twitter. According to her, the Kurd forces were the most important during the fight against ISIS in Syria. Along with this, according to reports, Senator Bob Menendez, the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, alleged that the Trump Administration has upended longstanding policy with an impulsive, politically-driven decision that will sacrifice long-term US national security interests.

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Trump threatens to destroy Turkey's economy

President Donald Trump on October 7 threatened to destroy and obliterate Turkey's economy if the nation decides to take any "off-limits" actions, following Trump's decision to withdraw the American forces from northeastern Syria. The US President took to Twitter and urged Turkey as well as other nations to look at the captured Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters and their families. 

Read | Turkey President Erdogan to meet Trump in US over Syria 'safe zone'

Read | Donald Trump threatens to destroy and obliterate Turkey's economy

Updated 07:45 IST, October 9th 2019