Pompeo: Trump's decision on Syria is 'very clear'

The US troop withdrawal from Syria will not be scuppered despite Turkish threats against Washington’s Kurdish allies there, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday (Jan. 9), promising to ensure that the Kurds would still be protected.

“The President's decision to withdraw is very clear," Pompeo said.

Responding to questions about how the US will handle the situation with regards to the Kurds and Turkey, Pompeo acknowledged that there was a threat to Turkey from terrorists and Washington will be "very supportive".

"Any place we find extremists and terrorists, we're prepared to support whatever country is ready to go after them. That includes Turkey and others," he said.

Asked if Erdogan’s pushback on the protection of the Kurds puts the withdrawal at risk, Pompeo told reporters: No. We’re having conversations with them even as we speak about how we will effectuate this in a way that protects our forces.

“It’s important that we do everything we can to make sure that those folks that fought with us are protected and Erdogan has made commitments, he understands that,” Pompeo added.

The unannounced visits to Baghdad and the Kurdish regional capital Erbil came on the second day of a Middle East tour also taking in Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman.

Pompeo has the task of explaining US policy in the region after Trump’s announcement of the withdrawal of all 2,000 US troops from Syria, which rattled allies and came as a shock to top US officials. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis quit over it.

Based on Reuters, DS