WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. armed forces will not support or be involved in an expected operation by Turkey in northern Syria and will remove forces from "the immediate area," the White House said on Sunday.
"Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into Northern Syria. The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in the operation," said White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham in a statement released on Sunday night.
"United States forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial "Caliphate,' will no longer be in the immediate area," the press secretary added, without further elaboration.
Anonymous officials inside the U.S. administration have indicated that the 100 to 150 United States military personnel deployed to that area would be pulled back in advance of any Turkish operation but that they would not be completely withdrawn from Syria, reported the New York Times on Sunday night.
The statement also noted that Turkey will be "responsible" for all the Islamic State (IS) fighters in the area captured over the past two years, while blaming France, Germany, and other European nations, where some fighters originated, for refusing to take them back.
The statement followed U.S. President Donald Trump's phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier in the day.
According to a readout provided by the Turkish presidency, the two leaders exchanged views on the agreed upon safe zone to be established in Syria, with Erdogan complaining to Trump about U.S. military and security "bureaucracy."
Turkey is determined to continue to fight the IS in Syria and take all necessary measures to prevent such a problem in the region from happening again, Erdogan added.
The phone call came one day after the Turkish president unleashed his strongest warning yet, threatening to launch a military operation against U.S.-backed Kurdish militia groups in northeastern Syria, rhetoric that has put the latter on high alert.
On Aug. 7, Turkish and U.S. officials agreed to set up a safe zone and develop a "peace corridor" in northern Syria which would address Ankara's security concerns about the Kurdish faction that controls the territory.
However, Ankara is dissatisfied for delays in withdrawing the People's Protection Units (YPG), which it sees as the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), while the United States continues arms support to the Kurdish fighters. Turkey also wants to set up military bases in the planned safe zone.
