This is days after he removed the majority of American troops from the region, allowing the actions to take place.
On Monday evening, President Trump took to Twitter to announce that he will soon sign an executive order authorizing sanctions against current and former government officials in Turkey for their “destabilizing actions in northeast Syria.”
The statement also announced that he intends to implement an increase in steel tariffs to 50%, and put a halt to a $100 billion trade deal with Turkey.
This comes just days after Trump removed US soldiers from Syria, essentially making way for the Turkish operation to take place.
Initially, following defending his actions, Trump did threaten to “obliterate Turkey’s economy” if they did anything he considered to be “off-limits”, but since the withdrawal announcement was made, NBC News reported that “the Turkish military has escalated its military operation in the region. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is led by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey views as a terrorist group.”
Additionally, there are unconfirmed reports that Turkish forces have taken over a Syrian border town over the weekend.
In response and in reference to his new sanctions, Trump stated that “This Order will enable the United States to impose powerful additional sanctions on those who may be involved in serious human rights abuses, obstructing a ceasefire, preventing displaced persons from returning home, forcibly repatriating refugees, or threatening the peace, security, or stability in Syria.”
You can read Trump’s statement in full below:
Statement from President Donald J. Trump Regarding Turkey’s Actions in Northeast Syria pic.twitter.com/ZCQC7nzmME
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2019
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