“Let Syria and Assad try protecting Kurds and fight Turkey for their own land. I said to my Generals, why should we be fighting for Syria and Assad to protect the land of our enemy?” Trump tweeted on Monday.

“Anyone who wants to assist Syria in protecting Kurds is good with me, whether it is Russia, China, or Napoleon Bonaparte. I hope they all do great, we are 7,000 miles away!” he went on to say.

“After defeating 100% of the ISIS Caliphate, I largely moved our troops out of Syria. Let Syria and Assad protect the Kurds and fight Turkey for their own land. I said to my Generals, why should we be fighting for Syria….”

Trump further raised the question why his country should protect part of Syria when Assad is “our enemy”.

“….I would much rather focus on our Southern Border which abuts and is part of the United States of America. And by the way, numbers are way down and the WALL is being built!”

Trump’s comments come as has been battered with criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike since the White House announced eight days ago that US forces would leave northern Syria, in a move that many call a “betrayal” to the US-allied Kurds in that region.

Following Trump’s decision to withdraw the US forces from northern Syria, Turkish forces last week moved into the Syrian territory, attacking the Kurdish forces that fought alongside the US against Daesh.

As a result, the Kurds struck a deal to join the Syrian army –Assad’s forces – in attempting to push back the Turks.

In another tweet on Monday, Trump also released a statement to announce new sanctions against “current and former officials of the Government of Turkey and any persons contributing to Turkey’s destabilizing actions in northeast Syria.”

He said he will be soon issuing an “Executive Order” which authorizes the imposition of these sanctions.

He also vowed to increase steel tariffs back up to 50 percent, and immediately stop negotiations with respect to a $100 billion trade deal with Turkey.

The US treasury secretary later announced that it has slapped sanctions on Turkey’s defense, interior and energy ministers upon Trump’s request.

‘Turkish incursion displaces 160,000 civilians’

The UN secretary general said on Monday in a statement that the Turkish military offensive in Syria has displaced at least 160,000 civilians.

Antonio Guterres “is gravely concerned over the military developments in northeast Syria,” the statement said.

It said Guterres was urging “all parties to resolve their concerns through peaceful means,” adding that “civilians not taking part in hostilities must be protected at all times.”

He also expressed “serious concern” that the Turkish onslaught could lead to the “unintended release of individuals” associated with ISIS.

Some of the Kurdish forces guarding ISIS prisoners or their families have been pulled away to fight the Turks, raising fears that many ISIS terrorists might be able to escape.

Guterres also demanded “sustained, unimpeded and safe humanitarian access to civilians in need” to allow the United Nations and its humanitarian partners to carry out aid work.

The UNICEF said that nearly 70,000 children have been displaced since hostilities in northeast Syria escalated nearly a week ago.

French, Turkish presidents hold talks

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan explained to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron the aims of Turkey’s operation in northeast Syria in a phone call, the Turkish presidency said on Monday.

Erdogan said the operation would contribute to regional and global peace and stability, the presidency said.

The talks came after the European Union countries agreed on Monday to limit arms exports to Turkey over its offensive, prompting condemnation from Ankara, even as they stopped short of a bloc-wide embargo against the NATO ally.

The post US 7,000 Miles Away, Not Responsible for Protecting Kurds appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that US President Donald Trump did not seek to blackmail him during a phone call in July or a meeting in September. Iran News quotes.

Zelenskiy said he had not known that US military aid to Ukraine had been blocked at the time of the call. Having been made aware of this by his defense minister later, he raised the issue during a separate meeting in September in Poland with Vice President Mike Pence.

The US House of Representatives has launched an impeachment inquiry against Trump, focused on whether he used congressionally approved aid to Ukraine as leverage to pressure Zelenskiy to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, one of Trump’s main Democratic rivals as he seeks re-election in 2020.

Trump has made allegations, without evidence, that Biden engaged in improper dealings in Ukraine. Biden’s son Hunter was on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma.

Zelenskiy told reporters that his aim in having a phone call with Trump was to arrange a subsequent meeting and that he had asked the White House to change its rhetoric on Ukraine.

He said Kiev was open to a joint investigation into Biden but added that Ukraine was an independent country with independent law enforcement agencies that he could not influence.

“There was no Trump blackmailing. This was not the subject of our conversation,” Zelenskiy said about his call with Trump, speaking to reporters in a day-long series of televised briefings with the press, held at a Kiev food court, Reuters reported.

Zelenskiy said there were no conditions attached to him meeting Trump, including whether he should investigate the activities of Hunter at Burisma.

The White House published its summary of the call between Zelenskiy and Trump in September. Asked whether the Ukrainian version matched up to the US one, Zelenskiy said: “I didn’t even check, but I think that it matches completely.”

Biden for the first time on Wednesday made a direct call for Trump’s impeachment. Trump meanwhile continued to paint the probe as a partisan smear and accused the US intelligence officer who filed the whistleblower complaint that sparked the impeachment row of having political motives.

Zelenskiy said he had no desire to interfere in the US election.

Zelenskiy said he had been made aware by his defense minister that Washington had frozen military aid to Ukraine.

He raised the issue at a meeting with Pence in Warsaw when they met at a commemoration to mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the Second World War.

“I told him … please help to resolve it,” Zelenskiy recalls asking Pence. “And after our meeting America unblocked the aid.”

The post Ukraine President denies Trump Blackmailing Him appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Trump, who made the announcement at an expansive Florida retirement community that leans heavily Republican, set out key themes of his reelection pitch, promising to defend a private insurance system that Democrats have sought to constrain and even eliminate in favor of government-run coverage. And on friendly turf, Trump attempted to position himself as a defender of seniors’ health care, decrying “Medicare for All” as a socialist takeover that would ruin Medicare coverage for seniors.

The post Trump new private Medicare coverage opposing the Democrat’s appeared first on Iran News Daily.