Rabat – The White House has confirmed the authenticity of a letter sent from US President Donald Trump to Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey.
Trump sent the letter to Erdogan on October 9 in an attempt to convince the Turkish president to withdraw Turkish troops from Syria.
Turkey has deployed troops for its military “Operation Peace Spring” in northern Syria. The Turkish operation is, according to Erdogan, to “secure its borders by eliminating terrorists there and ensuring the safe return of Syrian refugees and Syria’s territorial integrity.”
Several countries criticized the Turkish move, including Arab states, the UK, and other European states.
The US President was among the world leaders to strongly oppose Turkey’s military operation in Syria. in what the Guardian describes as a “bizarre” letter, Trump asked for dialogue with Erdogan.
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“You don’t want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don’t want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy – and I will,” Trump threatened.
Before telling Erdogan that he would call him “later,” Trump said that “history will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way.”
He concluded his letter by asking Erdogan to “ not be a tough guy.”
“Don’t be a fool!” Trump said to the Turkish President.
The several public figures in the US and internationally have expressed surprise at the letter, with some of them thinking it was a joke.
Mike Quigley, a member of US House Intelligence Committee told CNN that he thought it was a “prank.”
“I actually thought it was a prank, a joke that it couldn’t possibly come from the Oval office.”
The BBC quoted presidential sources from Turkey, stating that Erdogan “thoroughly rejected” Trump’s letter.
The sources told the BBC that the Turkish president put Trump’s letter in “the bin.”
