US calls Türkiye's military campaign in Syria a 'bad idea'
(Baonghean.vn) - US officials are using economic and diplomatic tools to persuade Türkiye to stop its military campaign in Syria, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview with The Tennessean newspaper. The interview was published on the official website of the US State Department on October 11.
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| US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Photo: EPA-EFE |
“Today, even as I sit here, my team, State Department teams are on the ground, working to convince President Erdogan, Türkiye, that this invasion was inappropriate,” Pompeo said.
Asked why exactly the US had withdrawn its forces from Syria, Mr. Pompeo said: “On the night of October 6, it was clear that President Erdogan of Türkiye was about to go in. We had less than 60 people in that area. They couldn’t stay and protect themselves. President Trump made the decision to move them out of that space by about 20-30 kilometers,” he explained.
“We have been working with the Kurds, the United States has been working with the Kurds not only in Syria, but throughout the Middle East, for a very long time. They have been good partners of ours in those places, and I have great confidence that this administration will continue to support people who are good friends of the United States,” he added.
“We are convincing them that it is a bad idea to go into Syria in this way, threatening the lives of Kurds and others in the region – including Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities,” he said. “We are using every economic and diplomatic tool at our disposal to convince them to stop.”
“The Kurds here and the leadership in Türkiye need to understand that we don’t think what President Erdogan is doing is right. It’s not right, and he needs to stop,” he noted.
On October 7, Ankara announced the launch of Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria, starting with airstrikes targeting Kurdish positions.
The operation is aimed at creating a buffer zone along the Turkish border where, according to Ankara, Syrian migrants residing in Türkiye can return home. Syria's state news agency SANA has criticized the operation as an act of aggression. The international community has also condemned Ankara's actions.
