In the span of two tweets, he addressed his administration’s plans to withdraw from Syria:

“Starting the long overdue pullout from Syria while hitting the little remaining ISIS territorial caliphate hard, and from many directions. Will attack again from existing nearby base if it reforms. Will devastate Turkey economically if they hit Kurds. Create 20 mile safe zone....”

“....Likewise, do not want the Kurds to provoke Turkey. Russia, Iran and Syria have been the biggest beneficiaries of the long term U.S. policy of destroying ISIS in Syria - natural enemies. We also benefit but it is now time to bring our troops back home. Stop the ENDLESS WARS!”

It was unclear what precisely he meant by creating a “20 mile safe zone” or who would enforce it should one be created.

Trump has used tariff threats in the past in an attempt to get Turkey to negotiate on issues in the past, but it was not clear whether he was warning that he may take economic action against Ankara should they attack Kurdish groups in Syria or whether the economic devastation would be an organic consequence of doing so.

Moreover, the location of the “existing base nearby” that would be used to hit Islamic State (IS) if it reemerged was not specified.

The US has a base in southern Syria at Al Tanf. US National Security Adviser John Bolton told Turkish officials last week that at this point the United States had no plans to abandon the base.

It also has troops stationed in neighboring Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, and a number of countries in the Gulf.

Reporter’s code: 50101