Washington, DC | AFP | –

US President Donald Trump (right) spoke with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan days before the US leader’s surprise announcement of a pullout of 2,000 troops from Syria

Months after hitting rock bottom, relations between the United States and Turkey have quickly improved with President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria raising speculation of a quiet pact.

Trump spoke with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, five days before the US leader’s surprise announcement of a pullout of 2,000 troops from Syria as he declared the defeat of the Islamic State group.

The Turkish leader had been threatening an imminent offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syria who have battled alongside the United States against the Islamic State but whom Ankara describes as “terrorists” for their kinship with PKK militants at home.

In a diplomatic statement after their telephone conversation, the Turkish government said that Trump and Erdogan “agreed to ensure more effective cooperation” on Syria.

In a less diplomatic statement, Erdogan on Monday said: “I spoke with Trump. The terrorists must leave the east of the Euphrates. If they don’t go, we will remove them.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at the same time that Trump was again talking of withdrawing from Syria.

Few took Cavusoglu’s comments seriously — a State Department spokesman, asked about his remarks, assured that “the job is not yet done” in Syria — until Trump suddenly announced the pullout on Wednesday.

Several US media outlets said Trump made his decision just after speaking to Erdogan. But Trump also prides himself on unpredictability and has long mused about leaving Syria, calling the involvement too costly.

“Trump’s decision has in fact little to do with Turkey,” said Sinan Ulgen, chairman of the Istanbul-based Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies.

“The timing may, however, have been precipitated by the call with Erdogan,” he said.

– ‘Major boost’ for Turkey –

“This is a major boost for Turkey and, I believe, an improvement in US-Turkish relations, while making Turkey less dependent on Russia also,” said Faysal Itani, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

Turkey — a member of NATO, the alliance designed as a bulwark against the Soviet Union — alarmed the United States a year ago when it signed a deal for S-400 missiles from Russia.

Also this week, the United States announced the approval of a sale of $3.5 billion worth of Patriot and other missiles to Turkey, offering a stark choice to Erdogan on where to buy weapons.

Relations sank further when Turkey detained Andrew Brunson, a US pastor based in the coastal city of Izmir, and demanded the extradition from Pennsylvania of Fetullah Gulen, an influential cleric whom Erdogan accuses of plotting a failed 2016 coup against him.

The Trump administration, which counts on evangelical Christians as a core constituency, turned Brunson’s detention into a top priority, slapping sanctions that rocked the Turkish economy including the value of the lira until his release in October.

“I believe the deal was that the Turks release Brunson in exchange for the US refraining from doing anything to damage the Turkish economy further,” said Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“The people in Washington who have argued for saving the relationship won,” he said.

– Admiration for Erdogan? –

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu predicted US President Donald Trump’s Syria withdrawal (AFP Photo/Fabrice COFFRINI).

Trump, who has often been accused of feeling more comfortable with strongmen than democratic allies, has indicated that he feels an affinity with Erdogan.

Meeting him last year, Trump called Erdogan a friend and said he gave him “very high marks” as he clamped down on dissent.

Cavusoglu, who predicted the Syria withdrawal, also said that Trump had promised he was “working on” the extradition of Gulen.

Two partners of Trump’s disgraced first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, were separately indicted this week for illegally scheming with Turkey to seek Gulen.

The White House said Tuesday that Trump only agreed to “take a look at” Gulen’s extradition — but, in light of recent events, the cleric is unlikely to be sleeping easy.

© Agence France-Presse

Featured Photo: US President Donald Trump (right) spoke with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan days before the US leader’s surprise announcement of a pullout of 2,000 troops from Syria (AFP Photo/ADEM ALTAN, SAUL.

Washington has long been the UN Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA) largest donor but is “no longer willing to shoulder the very disproportionate share of the burden,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

Nauert said there would be no additional contributions beyond a $60 million dollar payment made in January, drawing condemnation from both the Palestinians and UNRWA.

“The United States will no longer commit further funding to this irredeemably flawed operation,” Nauert added.

There have been widespread warnings about the impact of a halt to funding from the US, which contributed $350 million to UNRWA’s budget last year.

“We reject and condemn this American decision in its entirety,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement, calling on all countries “to reject this decision and to provide all possible support” to UNRWA.

UNRWA also slammed the US decision, dismissing Nauert’s characterization of the agency.

UNRWA “expresses deep regret and disappointment at the US’ announcement that it will no longer provide funding to the Agency after decades of staunch political and financial support,” spokesman Chris Gunness wrote on Twitter.

“We reject in the strongest possible terms the criticism that UNRWA’s schools, health centers, and emergency assistance programs are ‘irredeemably flawed,'” he said.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that UNRWA has his “full confidence,” calling on “other countries to help fill the remaining financial gap, so that UNRWA can continue to provide this vital assistance.”

The agency supports some five million registered Palestinian refugees and provides schooling for 526,000 children in the Palestinian territories as well as in camps in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

Fears over funding have already led to warnings from UNRWA that it may have to permanently shut all the 711 schools that it runs after recent temporary closures.

– US lost ‘status as peacemaker’ –

And while there was some relief for the agency on Thursday when Germany said it would provide additional funding, UNRWA’s director Pierre Krahenbuhl said earlier this week that the agency needs $200 million to continue its work until the end of this year.

The United States also announced last week that it was canceling more than $200 million in bilateral aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Nauert said the US would “intensify dialogue with the United Nations, host governments, and international stakeholders about new models and new approaches” to help alleviate any impact on Palestinian children.

“We are very mindful of and deeply concerned regarding the impact upon innocent Palestinians, especially school children, of the failure of UNRWA and key members of the regional and international donor community to reform and reset the UNRWA way of doing business,” she added.

The Palestinian ambassador to Washington, Hossam Zomlot, had earlier said that the US would be guilty of “reneging on its international commitment and responsibility” if reports that funding was to end were confirmed.

“By endorsing the most extreme Israeli narrative on all issues including the rights of more than five million Palestinian refugees, the US administration has lost its status as peacemaker and is damaging not only an already volatile situation but the prospects for future peace,” Zomlot said in a statement to AFP.

Israel and the United States have both accused UNRWA of perpetuating the Israel-Palestinian crisis by maintaining the idea of the right of return — that Palestinians will be able to return to the homes from which they fled.

And both governments say the UN as whole is biased against Israel, pointing to its long history of votes in the General Assembly against the Jewish state.

The Palestinian Authority has refused all contact with Washington since US President Donald Trump announced late last year that he was unilaterally recognizing Jerusalem — which is claimed by both Israel and the Palestinians — as the Israeli capital, making the US one of very few countries to do so.

The Palestinians were further enraged by the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, which was attended by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has been tasked with trying to revive the essentially moribund Middle East peace process.

Kushner has publicly questioned Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’ willingness to make concessions to secure peace.

Palestinian officials have countered that the Trump administration has come up with “nothing of substance” in trying to end the decades-old conflict despite the US president’s stated confidence of securing what he calls “the ultimate deal.”

Featured Photo: AFP/File / SAID KHATIB. A Palestinian man stands outside the offices of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) outside the agency’s offices in Gaza City.