The US government strongly opposes an expansion of Turkish attacks on Kurdish areas in northern Syria.
Both US President Donald Trump, as well as the foreign and defense ministers, warned Turkey to start a war against the Kurds. However, this was preceded on Monday by the information of the Pentagon to allied with the US Kurdish fighters, they would not defend them in the event of a Turkish attack.
Jonathan Hoffman, spokesman for the Pentagon, said, "The Department of Defense, like the US president, has made it clear to Turkey that we do not support a Turkish operation in northern Syria." The US Army will not provide assistance and will not participate in such operations.
Turkey is NATO partner to the US, and the US Army and Turkish forces are working closely together on the border with Syria. So far, the US Army has also supported Kurdish forces in northern Syria in the fight against the terrorist militia "Islamic State". On Sunday, however, the US government said it would withdraw troops from the region.
The Kurdish YPG militia is in the forefront of the resistance of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the regime of the Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in the north of the civil war country. They had complained in connection with the announced US troop withdrawal, they were apparently left by their allies in the lurch.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday his country was about to launch a military operation in Syria "both from the air and ground forces." Erdogan referred to the majority Kurdish-controlled area east of the Euphrates river in Syria.
Trump threatens to destroy the Turkish economy
A State Department spokesman told journalists in Washington that they have "told the Turks that we do not support their operation." It is considered "a very bad idea". According to the spokesman, head of state Erdogan had asked in a phone call with US President Trump over the weekend to get support from the US. But the president refused.
At about the same time, the US president wrote via Twitter that if Turkey took steps that it considered "off-limits" in its "grand and unprecedented wisdom, it would" completely destroy and erase the Turkish economy. " he did it before.
During the day, representatives of the European Union and the United Nations (UN) had warned vehemently against Turkish attacks in northern Syria. UN Secretary General António Guterres called on all warring factions in the Syrian northern provinces to "maximum restraint".
