Advertisement

Donald Trump 'to stop arming' Syrian Kurdish fighters

President Erdogan and President Trump in New York in September - Anadolu
President Erdogan and President Trump in New York in September - Anadolu

President Donald Trump told his Turkish counterpart that the United States will stop supplying arms to Syrian Kurdish fighters, according to officials in Turkey.

The Turkish government considers the group, known as the YPG, terrorists but the US has been openly arming them in the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

Mr Trump reportedly said, in a call with President Recep Erdogan, that the US would no longer do so.

Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish Foreign Minister who was in Mr Erdogan's office during the call, told a press conference in Ankara: "Mr Trump clearly stated that he had given clear instructions and that the YPG won't be given arms, and that this nonsense should have ended a long time ago."

There was no immediate comment from the White House, the State Department or the Pentagon.

But several US officials involved with Syria policy said they were not yet aware of an intention to end US assistance to the Kurds.

Isil map
Isil map

Turkey considers the YPG to be the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has waged an insurgency inside Turkey for decades.

Before the call Mr Trump had written on Twitter that he would be speaking to Mr Erdogan "about bringing peace to the mess that I inherited in the Middle East".

He added: "I will get it all done but what a mistake in lives and dollars (6 trillion) to be there in the first place!"

Mr Trump added: "After Turkey call I will be heading over to Trump National Golf Club to play golf (quickly) with Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson."

Mr Trump regularly spends weekends at a golf course but White House officials have repeatedly declined to confirm that he was actually playing.

During last year's presidential campaign he repeatedly excoriated his predecessor, Barack Obama, for golfing while in office.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday this week Mr Trump, who spent the period in Florida, visited golf courses on three consecutive days.

Johnson is the current top ranked golfer in the world, and Woods is a former world number one.