Erdogan: Turkey Will Delay Invasion of Syria

Says Turkey will take over fight against ISIS

In a move intended to facilitate to US pullout they’ve long sought, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed that Turkey will be postponing its own military invasion of northeast Syria. Indications are that the invasion is on hold until the US finishes withdrawing its own forces from the same area.

This makes sense given other reports on the process. President Trump appears to have settled on the pullout after speaking with Erdogan last week, and Erdogan is said to have told him the invasion was happening and for the US to get out of the way.

Now that US troops are getting out of the way, and Erdogan says he believes he and Trump are on the same page on Syria, there really is no reason for Turkey not to facilitate the withdrawal by waiting on an invasion they’ve been holding off on for years.

While the eventual invasion will focus on fighting the Kurds, Turkish officials are also indicating that they intend to “take over” the fight against ISIS remnants in Syria now that the US is gone. That might take awhile, as they are on the other side of Kurdish territory, and any Kurdish fighting against ISIS will almost certainly be put on hold to try to defend their own lands.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is news editor of