Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S.. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly rejected US President Donald Trump’s letter by throwing it in the garbage, the BBC quoted Turkish sources as saying.
The October 9 letter was released to the public by the White House on Wednesday, in which Trump wrote to Erdogan, “Don’t be a tough guy” and “Don’t be a fool!”
Trump had the letter released to bolster his view that he did not give Turkey a green light to invade Syria. The BBC reported that Turkish presidential sources said the letter was “thoroughly rejected” by Erdogan.
Trump has come under intense criticism, both at home and abroad, since announcing the withdrawal of US troops from Syria – a move which allowed Turkish forces to enter and begin conducting a campaign against Kurdish forces in the region.
“Let’s work out a good deal! You don’t want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don’t want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy – and I will,” Trump wrote in the letter.
Turkish presidential sources told the BBC that, “President Erdogan received the letter, thoroughly rejected it and put it in the [garbage].”
On the day the letter was received, Turkey responded by launching an offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces, a rebel group composed primarily of Kurdish YPG fighters.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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