WASHINGTON: A US military delegation will visit Turkey this week to discuss the withdrawal of American ground forces from Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said on Monday.
"They will discuss how to coordinate (the withdrawal) with their counterparts," Ibrahim Kalin told a news conference in Ankara after US President Donald Trump's shock decision last week to order the pull-out of 2,000 troops.
The US has for years supported the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against the Daesh terrorist group in Syria.
Critics of Trump's move fear that thousands of Daesh members could make gains in Syria, despite the US leader's claim that the group had been defeated.
"There is no question of a step backwards, vulnerability or a slowdown in the fight against Daesh," Kalin vowed, adding: "Turkey will show the same determination against Daesh... We can bring peace to this region."
He referred to Turkey's cross-border offensive launched in August 2016 against Daesh in northern Syria and said Ankara would take all measures to avoid a power vacuum after the US withdrawal.
Kalin said there would be further talks between the two countries' foreign ministries and other departments including a meeting planned in Washington on January 8.
"There will be intensive traffic" between officials, he added, a day after Trump and Erdogan held a telephone conversation agreeing to coordinate the Syria pull-out.
Trump's order came as Ankara warned it would launch an operation east of the Euphrates River against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia which dominates the SDF.
Ankara says the YPG is a "terrorist offshoot" of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
Although Turkey said it would postpone the offensive, a Turkish military convoy has arrived in the Turkish border district of Elbeyli carrying howitzers and artillery batteries.
Parts of the convoy entered Syria, the private IHA news agency reported.
Turkey says US team coming to discuss Syria troops withdrawal
Turkey says US team coming to discuss Syria troops withdrawal
- The announcement shocked global partners and American politicians alike
- US troops will leave under the auspices of a new Pentagon chief set to start next month
Israel’s Supreme Court suspends govt move to shut army radio
- Israel’s Supreme Court has issued an interim order suspending a government decision to shut down Galei Tsahal, the country’s decades-old and widely listened-to military radio station
JERUSALEM: Israel’s Supreme Court has issued an interim order suspending a government decision to shut down Galei Tsahal, the country’s decades-old and widely listened-to military radio station.
In a ruling issued late Sunday, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit said the suspension was partly because the government “did not provide a clear commitment not to take irreversible steps before the court reaches a final decision.”
He added that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara supported the suspension.
The cabinet last week approved the closure of Galei Tsahal, with the shutdown scheduled to take effect before March 1, 2026.
Founded in 1950, Galei Tsahal is widely known for its flagship news programs and has long been followed by both domestic and foreign correspondents.
A government audience survey ranks it as Israel’s third most listened-to radio station, with a market share of 17.7 percent.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged ministers to back the closure, saying there had been repeated proposals over the years to remove the station from the military, abolish it or privatise it.
But Baharav-Miara, who also serves as the government’s legal adviser and is facing dismissal proceedings initiated by the premier, has warned that closing the station raised “concerns about possible political interference in public broadcasting.”
She added that it “poses questions regarding an infringement on freedom of expression and of the press.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz said last week that Galei Tsahal broadcasts “political and divisive content” that does not align with military values.
He said soldiers, civilians and bereaved families had complained that the station did not represent them and undermined morale and the war effort.
Katz also argued that a military-run radio station serving the general public is an anomaly in democratic countries.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid had condemned the closure decision, calling it part of the government’s effort to suppress freedom of expression ahead of elections.
Israel is due to hold parliamentary elections in 2026, and Netanyahu has said he will seek another term as prime minister.
