US pullout from Syria must be planned carefully: Erdogan

Ankara, Jan 8 (IANS) The US withdrawal from Syria must be planned carefully and performed in cooperation with the right partners to protect itself, the international community and Syrian people, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.In an op-ed published by the New York Times, Erdogan said that his country is the only one "with the power and commitment to perform that task". Regarding the efforts to completely defeat the Islamic State (IS), Erdogan on Monday said that Turkey expects international support in its bid to eliminate the group, Xinhua reported. He also stressed that Turkey is "the sole stakeholder that can work simultaneously with the US and Russia". "Turkey is volunteering to shoulder this heavy burden at a critical time in history. We are counting on the international community to stand with us," Erdogan added. Last month, the US President Donald Trump declared victory over the IS and announced that US forces would be "coming home soon," sparking concern among officials in Washington and allies abroad.
--IANS pgh/