Trump in a letter to Recep Tayyip Erdogan: "Do not be a fool!"

With diplomatic courtesy phrases, the US President is not on, he immediately goes into full force. Already in the first paragraph of his letter to the Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens Donald Trump this with the destruction of the Turkish economy. The rest of the letter, published by Trump's favorite Fox News, reads rather oddly.

It is dated to the 9th of October - the day Turkey started its highly controversial military offensive against Kurdish militias in northern Syria.

Trump reminded Erdogan that he certainly did not want to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of people. The Kurdish side is ready for negotiations, Trump continued. "You can make a great deal." Erdogan could go down in history in a positive way if he was acting properly and humanely in the conflict. Otherwise, he will forever be remembered as a devil.

Especially noteworthy is finally the exit: "Do not be a tough guy, do not be a fool!" Trump appealed. The letter ends with the words, "I'll call you later."

Trump has been facing massive criticism for days - and especially from the ranks of his Republicans - that he had paved the way for Erdogan's controversial military offensive with the withdrawal of American soldiers from northern Syria in the first place.

Abstruse statements about your own strategy

The White House rejects the allegations and Trump argues that he wants to retrieve the US soldiers from the "endless wars". In a press conference on Wednesday, Trump had mentioned the letter to Erdogan himself and stressed that he had given Ankara by no means the green light for the military action, but Erdogan rather made a tough announcement.

DPA

Trump (left) and Erdogan (in Japan in June): Recently the mood was less good

Despite the persistent, strong opposition, the US President does not want to acknowledge his own fault for the catastrophic development in Syria. On the contrary: his Syria course was "strategically brilliant," Trump now claimed in consistent disregard of the situation on the ground. The US soldiers are by their withdrawal from northern Syria "totally safe," he said on Wednesday in Washington.

Trump about the Kurds: These are "no angels"

The Kurdish fighters, allied to the US to date, would now be protected by Syria - "that's good," the US president said. He exclaimed that they only entered into the desperation deal with the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad in order to avoid the advancing Turkish army.

The Kurdish People's Defense Units and the US troops had together successfully fought the terrorist group "Islamic State" in recent years. Meanwhile, Trump talks badly about the Kurdish fighters. These are "not angels," he said on Wednesday .