ANKARA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday hit back at the economic threats of U.S. President Donald Trump on the Twitter against Turkey.
"We have said repeatedly we are not afraid of any threats and economic threats against Turkey will get nowhere," Cavusoglu said at a joint press conference with his Luxembourgian counterpart Jean Asselborn in the capital Ankara.
"Strategic partners should not communicate over social media. We have all official channels open for communicating with the United States," Cavusoglu added.
"We see that Trump is under great pressure not to withdraw troops from Syria. He is in a difficult situation," the minister noted.
Meanwhile, Cavusoglu said Turkey was "not against" the proposal of a "security zone" in Syria.
"The proposal for a 30-km buffer zone on Syria's border with Turkey did not come from the United States. It was the proposal of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Europeans, including Russians," he said.
Cavusoglu said the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama had "failed to support our idea due to various excuses, and now they are coming up with it due to Turkey's determination."
On Sunday, Trump tweeted that the United States would "devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds" amid the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. He also suggested the creation of a 20-mile (32 km) safe zone in Syria.
Erdogan has signalled a cross-border operation which will be launched soon to clear the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northeastern Syria.
The United States and Turkey have been quarrelling recently regarding the Kurdish militia in northern Syria, a U.S. ally in the anti-Islamic State campaign but seen as a terrorist group by Ankara.
