Erdoğan Says Trump 'Tweets to Ease Pressure'

*Photo: AA

Click to read the article in Turkish

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that he considers his US counterpart Donald Trump's tweets on Turkey's military offensive into Syria "statements to ease the pressure by some circle."

Trump posted several tweets on Turkey in the last few days, saying that he would "obliterate Turkey's economy" if it crosses limits and that Turkey should take over captured ISIS fighters.

"Politicians and the media try to exert pressure on Trump. To ease the pressure, he is forced to give some messages on Twitter," the President said, speaking to reporters in his plane on the return from Serbia.

"Trump made the right decision about the safe zone. We came to a decision in a phone call on Sunday night. But the US military and security bureaucracy do not carry out the orders of their president," Erdoğan said.

Erdoğan further indicated that reactions from the EU have been "generally positive."

"It is even beyond positive. For example, England says, 'We can help'. France also says similar things.

EU countries released a joint declaration yesterday, calling on Turkey to stop the operation. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini also called Turkey to stop the offensive.

Housing project for refugees

Erdoğan said that the Operation Peace Spring has three aims: Turning the areas near Turkey's southern border from a "terror corridor" to a "peace corridor; protecting Syria's territorial integrity and ensuring the return of Syrian refugees in Turkey.

Erdoğan also said that they can build houses for refugees if they receive financial support. "We made plans to take these steps, we prepared our projects," he said.

CLICK - Does Turkey's Plan to Resettle Millions of Refugees in Northern Syria Make Sense?

"According to our plans, it is a must for the refugees to return to the places where they came from," Erdoğan said, adding that they will not force the refugees to return if they do not want to. (AS/VK)