US President Donald Trump on Monday defended his administration's decision to withdraw US troops from northern Syria, saying it was too costly to keep supporting US-allied Kurdish-led forces in the region fighting the Islamic State.
"The Kurds fought with us, but were paid massive amounts of money and equipment to do so. They have been fighting Turkey for decades," Trump said in a series of tweets.
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"Turkey, Europe, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Kurds will now have to figure the situation out."
Earlier Monday, Germany expressed concerns at the prospect of an incursion by Turkey into northeastern Syria, saying such an intervention could further destabilize the war-torn country.
Ulrike Demmer, a spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, said on Monday that Germany is aware of the "special security policy situation" that Turkey faces on its border. But she cautioned that successes against the Islamic State group, which she noted were achieved in significant part by Syrian Kurdish forces with international support, "must not be endangered."
On Monday, US-backed Kurdish-led forces said American troops had begun pulling back from positions along the border in northeast Syria ahead of an expected Turkish invasion that the Syrian Kurds say will overturn five years of achievements in the battle against ISIS.
The Syrian Kurdish fighters also accused Washington of failing to abide by its commitments to its key allies in the fight against the Islamic State. It's a major shift in US policy.
There was no immediate confirmation from the White House of US troops clearing positions in areas in northern Syria.
"Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into northern Syria," the White House said after Trump spoke to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday.
"The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in the operation, and United States forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial "caliphate," will no longer be in the immediate area," it added in a statement.
Erdoğan, however, also said American troops have started withdrawing from positions, and a video posted by a Kurdish news agency showed a convoy of American armored vehicles apparently heading away from the border area of Tel Abyad.
Erdoğan spoke hours after the White House said US forces in northeastern Syria will move aside and clear the way for an expected Turkish assault – essentially abandoning Kurdish fighters who fought alongside American forces in the yearslong battle to defeat the Islamic State group.
Erdoğan didn't elaborate on the planned Turkish incursion but said Turkey was determined to halt what it perceives as threats from the Syrian Kurdish fighters.
Erdoğan has threatened for months to launch the military operation across the border. He views the Syria Kurdish forces as a threat to his country as Ankara has struggled with a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey.
In the US, Republicans and Democrats have warned that allowing the Turkish attack could lead to a massacre of the Kurds and send a troubling message to American allies across the globe.
The Syrian Democratic Forces, as the Kurdish-led force is known, said the American pullout began first from areas along the Syria-Turkey border.
"The American forces did not abide by their commitments and withdrew their forces along the border with Turkey," the SDF said in its statement. "Turkey now is preparing to invade northern and eastern parts of Syria."
"The Turkish military operation in northern and eastern Syria will have a huge negative effect on our war against ISIS," it added.
In an agreement between Ankara and Washington, joint patrols had been patrolling a security zone that covers over 78 miles along the border between the towns of Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain. The SDF had removed fortification from the areas, considered by Turkey as a threat, and retreated heavy weapons.
But Turkey and the US disagreed over the depth of the zone, with Ankara seeking to also have its troops monitor a stretch of territory between 19 to 25 miles. Despite the agreement, Erdoğan had continued to threaten an attack.
