US President Donald Trump has announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be his guest at the White House on Nov. 13.
“So many people conveniently forget that Turkey is a big trading partner of the United States, in fact they make the structural steel frame for our F-35 Fighter Jet,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday.
“They have also been good to deal with, helping me to save many lives at Idlib Province, and returning, in very good health, at my request, Pastor Brunson, who had many years of a long prison term remaining. Also remember, and importantly, that Turkey is an important member in good standing of NATO.”
“He is coming to the U.S. as my guest on November 13th.”
On Monday Trump gave the green light to Turkey for a military offensive into the northeastern part of Syria, where the Erdoğan government wants to establish a safe zone.
Turkey is targeting the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), an ally of Washington in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
According to Ankara, the YPG is an offshoot of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging a bloody insurgency in Turkey’s Southeast for decades.
“We may be in the process of leaving Syria, but in no way have we Abandoned the Kurds, who are special people and wonderful fighters,” Trump tweeted later.
“Turkey already has a large Kurdish population and fully understands that while we only had 50 soldiers remaining in that section of Syria, and they have been removed, any unforced or unnecessary fighting by Turkey will be devastating to their economy and to their very fragile currency. We are helping the Kurds financially/weapons!”