Turkey Believes Trump Could Pull US Troops from Syria

Turkish Defense chief Güler argues President-elect Trump, once back in the White House, could abide by his previous promises of removing American troops from northern Syria where Washington is allied with PKK/YPG terrorists, a major strain on Turkish-US ties.

“Trump, during his presidency, gave orders on three occasions for the withdrawal of the US military from Syria. I believe Trump in the coming term will strongly dwell on this issue and pull American soldiers out of the region and Syria,” Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said Tuesday.

The US has approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighboring Syria under the pretext of the fight against Daesh.