- Title: Trump warned Erdogan in an Oct 9 letter: 'Don't be a tough guy'
- Date: 16th October 2019
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 16, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S OCTOBER 9th LETTER TO TURKISH PRESIDENT TAYYIP ERDOGAN
- Embargoed: 30th October 2019 21:34
- Keywords: Republican Syria White House letter Turkey Donald Trump Nancy Pelosi
- Location: WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Fashion
- Reuters ID: LVA002B1CMA13
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: U.S. President Donald Trump warned Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a letter about Turkey's incursion into Syria, "Don't be a tough guy" and "Don't be a fool!"
The Oct. 9 letter was released by the White House on Wednesday (October 16) as Trump battled to control the political damage following his decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria, clearing the way for the Turkish incursion against America's Kurdish allies.
The letter tried to persuade Erdogan to reverse a decision to invade Syria that Erdogan told Trump about in an Oct 6 phone call.
"Let's work out a good deal!" Trump said. "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 had the letter released to bolster his view that he did not give Turkey a green light to invade Syria. Many lawmakers have been sharply critical of his decision to remove American forces from the conflict zone.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democratic leaders' cut short a White House meeting on Wednesday after Republican President Donald Trump had a "meltdown" over a House of Representatives vote condemning his Syria withdrawal.
Speaking with reporters afterward, Republicans criticized the Democratic leader.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, A Republican from California, said Pelosi's handling was "concerning."
"It's just unbecoming," McCarthy added.
McCarthy said the manner in which Pelosi addressed Trump was inappropriate and they had a productive meeting after she left.
There was no immediate response from the White House. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
