Erdogan, however, added that the operation would eventually follow through on plans for an assault on Kurdish and Islamic State forces there.

Turkish officials said publicly last week that the country was a few days away from beginning an invasion of Syria to attack the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the United States’ closest ally in the complex and devastating Syrian civil war.

Trump ordered the withdrawal of United States forces in Syria.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced his resignation on Thursday, making clear that he opposed the Syria withdrawal, along with other presidential actions.

Speaking at a meeting of business leaders in Istanbul, Erdogan said on Friday that his talks with Trump, particularly a conversation they had a week earlier, had shown that they “share the same views on many issues about Syria.”

“The phone conversation we made with Trump, the contacts of our diplomacy and security units, and statements from the American side pushed us to wait for another while,” he said. But he warned, “This is not an open-ended waiting process.”

Reporter’s code: 50101