US President Donald Trump continued to push back against criticism of his withdrawal of forces from northeastern Syria, after which Turkey launched a cross-border assault against Kurdish fighters in Syria. "It's not our border," Trump said speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, asserting that Kurdish forces themselves were "not angels." "If Russia wants to get involved with Syria, that's really up to them," Trump continued. "We shouldn't be losing lives over it." "We're watching and we're negotiating and we're trying to get Turkey to do the right thing," the president added, calling the decision to withdraw troops from the area "strategically brilliant." “Our soldiers are out of there, totally safe,” he explained. "They've got to work it out. Maybe they can do it without fighting." The statements were made as US VP Mike Pence and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are set to meet with Turkish leader Erdogan in Ankara over the crisis in northeastern Syria. Earlier Wednesday, Channel 13 reported that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will subsequently meet tomorrow with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to update him on the talks with Turkey.
