10 January 2019•Update: 10 January 2019
By Servet Gunerigok
WASHINGTON
U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw all American troops from Syria is "very clear", Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday.
He was speaking to reporters at the U.S. Consulate General in Erbil, Iraq.
Pompeo made the remarks in response to a question about whether a condition set by the U.S. for the pullout that requires Turkey to promise not to attack the PYD/YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror organization, put the withdrawal at risk.
He said the U.S. was talking to the PYD/YPG and Ankara on how to effectuate the pullout in a "way that protects our forces, makes sure that the Americans are safe.
"We will complete the mission of taking down the last elements of the caliphate before we depart," said Pompeo, referring to the Daesh terror organization.
Last December, Trump announced plans to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria, claiming that American forces had defeated Daesh there.
Ankara has long criticized the U.S. for working with the terrorist PYD/YPG to fight Daesh in Syria, saying that using one terror group to fight another makes no sense.
In its 30-year terrorist campaign, the PKK has taken some 40,000 lives, including women and children.
Pompeo said Washington "acknowledges that there is a threat to Turkey from terrorists and we will be very supportive.
"Any place we find extremists and terrorists, we’re prepared to support whatever country is ready to go after them," he said. "That includes Turkey and others."
