Turkey can 'protect interests of US, Syrians': Erdogan

By Handan Kazanci and Sibel Ugurlu

ANKARA (AA) - The U.S. withdrawal from Syria must be planned carefully and performed in cooperation with the right partners to protect the interests of Washington, the international community and the Syrian people, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday.

"Turkey, which has NATO’s second largest standing army, is the only country with the power and commitment to perform that task," Erdogan said in an article penned for The New York Times.

Erdogan stressed in the op-ed that Turkey was committed to defeating Daesh and other terrorist groups in Syria.

"It is time for all stakeholders to join forces to end the terror unleashed by the Islamic State, an enemy of Islam and Muslims around the world, and to preserve Syria’s territorial integrity," he said, using another name for Daesh.

"Turkey is volunteering to shoulder this heavy burden at a critical time in history," Erdogan noted and urged the international community to stand with Turkey.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump made the unexpected decision to withdraw 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, sparking criticism from many allies and security aides, including his own Cabinet.

Turkey has repeatedly objected to U.S. support for the PYD/YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror organization, as a "reliable ally" in Syria, which has included supplying arms and equipment.