Turkish president Erdogan 'threw Trump's Syria letter in bin' - BBC News

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan put US President Donald Trump's letter "in the bin", the BBC has been told.

In the letter dated 9 October, and sent after US troops were pulled out of Syria, Mr Trump told Mr Erdogan: "Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool!"

Turkish presidential sources told the BBC that the letter was "thoroughly rejected" by Mr Erdogan.

On the day the letter was received, Turkey launched a cross-border offensive against Kurdish-led forces.

"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," Mr Trump said in the letter.

"History will look upon you favourably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don't happen."

In response, Turkish presidential sources said: "President Erdogan received the letter, thoroughly rejected it and put it in the bin."

President Trump has faced intense criticism for the withdrawal of troops, which critics say gave Turkey the green light to launch the military attack.

Much of the criticism has come from within Mr Trump's own party.

In a rare bipartisan rebuke, 129 members of the president's Republican Party in the House of Representatives joined Democrats to formally denounce the move in a vote on Wednesday.

The joint resolution, which also called on President Erdogan to immediately cease military operations against Kurdish-led forces, was voted in by 354-60.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also held an apparently explosive meeting with President Trump on the issue, which led to her and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer walking out of the room.

Republican leaders said Ms Pelosi's behaviour was "unbecoming", and criticised her for "storming out".

Ms Pelosi and Mr Trump also each accused the other of having a "meltdown", with the president later tweeting a photo of their confrontation.

But the image has been praised by Democrats, who said it was "iconic" and showed Ms Pelosi's "finest moment". Ms Pelosi also made the photo her top image on Twitter.

Earlier on Wednesday, President Trump said the US should not be intervening in Turkey's military operation in Syria because it is "not our border", and called the former US allies the Kurds "no angels".

Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels launched the offensive in northern Syria last week to push back from the border members of a Syrian Kurdish militia, called the People's Protection Units (YPG), and to create a "safe zone" where up to two million Syrian refugees can be resettled.

Kurdish-led forces have been a critical ally of the US in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria and there are fears the destabilisation could lead to a jihadist resurgence.

• Will Islamic State re-emerge?
• Orphaned siblings rescued from Syrian camp

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2019-10-17 09:21:37Z
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Brexit deal has been reached say E.U. and U.K. leaders - The Washington Post

BRUSSELS — European and British negotiators struck a deal Thursday to split Britain from the European Union, raising the prospect that the country could be out of the bloc by the end of October.

Negotiators working through the night in Brussels struck a deal Thursday morning after Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed on despite lingering questions about warring Brexit factions in London. The agreement would still need approval by European leaders and the British Parliament.

“We’ve got a great new deal that takes back control — now Parliament should get Brexit done on Saturday so we can move on to other priorities like the cost of living, the NHS, violent crime and our environment,” Johnson tweeted.

British lawmakers passed a law requiring Johnson to ask to delay the Oct. 31 Brexit date if a deal to ease the exit isn’t in place by Saturday.

“Where there is a will, there is a #deal - we have one! It’s a fair and balanced agreement for the EU and the UK and it is testament to our commitment to find solutions,” wrote European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Twitter.

Earlier in the day, the leader of the key Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party, Arlene Foster, said she could not back the current proposal.

The party did not immediately publicly sign on to the newly announced deal, but Johnson said that the plan was ready to go. It could still fall apart in Parliament, as a previous deal did under Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May.

Diplomats said that if a deal is reached Thursday, it could still be possible — just barely — to get it ratified by the European Parliament by the end of the month, giving Johnson a strong incentive to wrestle his warring political tribes into submission.

One senior E.U. official said that Johnson told the Europeans that he could get a deal ratified in Britain in six days. Still, leaders are poised to convene again in Brussels before the end of the month, amid a growing sense that nothing can be finalized during the two-day summit that was getting underway.

[E.U. rejects Boris Johnson’s Brexit proposal, raising prospect of chaotic break within weeks]

According to people briefed on the talks, Johnson was willing to make a slew of concessions in the interest of fulfilling his promise to get Britain out of the European Union this month — and perhaps at any cost. 

Not only does he have to strike a bargain that can get the approval of 27 other E.U. countries — itself a difficult task — but he then must sell it at home. British domestic politics can be unforgiving. Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, made a deal with Brussels only to have it defeated three times in Parliament.

Before the two-day summit begins, representatives from each of the E.U.’s 27 remaining member states will want to digest any deal and make recommendations to their leaders. In Europe’s consultations, where not all leaders speak English, even translations sometimes need to be given time.

The key sticking point in the closed-door talks in Brussels has been what happens to the border between Northern Ireland, which will leave with the rest of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, which will remain a member of the E.U.

Right now, the boundary is mostly invisible. Both sides want to keep it that way, to preserve the peace of the Good Friday Agreement — but they have differed over how to achieve it, with Britain going in one economic direction and the E.U. going in another.

Under the current deal, Northern Ireland would remain aligned with most E.U. rules so that the border could stay open. Eventually, Northern Ireland lawmakers could vote to move closer toward the rest of the United Kingdom. 

It bears a strong resemblance to an arrangement the E.U. floated more than a year ago — and that May said would never work for London because it would require customs checks in the Irish Sea for goods traveling inside the United Kingdom.

But now, Johnson appears willing to cross red lines if it means he can fulfill his promise to deliver Brexit by Oct. 31. That would mean convincing his partners in Britain.

Foster of the DUP, who has become a key person in the bargaining, has said she wants more of a role for her party in determining the  future of Northern Ireland.

The remaining 27 E.U. countries, meanwhile, want to make sure that differences in the tax systems between the E.U. and Northern Ireland don’t encourage smuggling or other behavior that takes advantage of the situation.

Booth reported from London. Karla Adams in London contributed to this report.

Read more

The ‘rebel alliance’ teamed up to thwart Boris Johnson’s plans. Can it stay united to steer Brexit?

Prime Minister Boris Johnson offers a new Brexit plan, new suspension of Parliament

Brexit: U.K. and Europe edge closer to deal — but are not there yet

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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2019-10-17 09:18:00Z
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Brexit edges towards the endgame | Parliament LIVE - The Sun

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2019-10-17 08:35:14Z
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Blow to Boris Johnson’s Brexit Plan as He Heads to Brussels - The New York Times

BRUSSELS — Britain’s frantic efforts to negotiate a Brexit agreement with the European Union hit a last-minute snag on Thursday morning, after Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party said it could not support the deal “as things stand.”

The statement, hours before Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain was to present the deal to European leaders at a summit meeting in Brussels, suggested that British domestic politics once again threatened to torpedo a complex negotiation in the 11th hour.

It was not clear whether the Northern Ireland party simply wanted to make a show of holding out for its position before ultimately acquiescing — or whether Mr. Johnson faced a serious rebellion from the skeptics in his ranks.

But the sudden setback rattled the financial markets, with the British pound falling to $1.27 and 1.15 euros on the news, after having surged earlier this week on optimism that a deal was finally in sight.

The Democratic Unionists, who have proved to be a pivotal blocking force in previous attempts to negotiate an agreement to extricate Britain from the bloc, said they were troubled by elements of the deal on how to handle Northern Ireland in a post-Brexit world.

“As things stand,” the party said in a statement issued on Thursday, “we could not support what is being suggested on a customs and consent issues, and there is a lack of clarity on VAT.”

The party said it would continue working with the government on an acceptable agreement.

Mr. Johnson has consulted closely the Democratic Unionists and other skeptical elements of his Conservative Party-led coalition as a deal has taken shape. On Wednesday, optimism had grown amid signs in Brussels that the deadlock over Britain’s planned departure from the bloc could be on the verge of breaking.

Essentially, the proposed agreement would leave Northern Ireland aligned with European Union laws and regulations on most trade issues, even as it moved out of the European single market and into a customs union with Britain.

Under the proposed terms, the bloc would still conduct customs checks on some goods flowing from Britain to Northern Ireland if those goods were ultimately destined for the European Union.

There would be a complex series of rules on tariffs and value-added tax payments to compensate for differences in tariff rates between the European and British customs unions, though negotiators were struggling late on Tuesday to resolve the issue of how to rebate value-added tax payments.

The arrangement would also be subject to consent by the Northern Ireland Assembly, but in a way that would prevent the Democratic Unionists, who have opposed previous such proposals, from simply vetoing it at the first possible opportunity.

The Democratic Unionists are crucial to Mr. Johnson’s effort to win a majority for the deal in Parliament. Their opposition to similar previous versions of a Brexit agreement forced Mr. Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, to overhaul that agreement to place all of Britain in the European customs union for a period of time.

Mrs. May’s deal was nevertheless soundly defeated in Parliament three times.

Mr. Johnson was seen as having a better chance of cobbling together a majority, in part because he was a vocal supporter of Brexit before the 2016 referendum and thus has greater credibility with euroskeptic elements of the Conservative coalition.

As British negotiators were huddling with their European counterparts in Brussels, Mr. Johnson met with a parade of skeptics in 10 Downing Street. His hope is to win approval of the deal in Brussels by Friday, and then put it to a vote in a special session of the House of Commons on Saturday.

Mr. Johnson has vowed to leave the European Union, with or without a deal, by Oct. 31, and his negotiators have labored to seal an agreement by this week so that the prime minister is not force to ask Brussels for an extension.

European negotiators have used that tight timetable as leverage to push Mr. Johnson on the issue of Northern Ireland. The deal taking shape is not all that different from the one that the European Union proposed to Mrs. May — and which she concluded she could not accept because of opposition from the Democratic Unionists.

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2019-10-17 07:03:00Z
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Brexit deal on a knife edge but talks continue ahead of EU summit - CNBC

Efforts are continuing to hammer out a Brexit deal Thursday as European Union leaders gather for a summit at which they could approve a tentative withdrawal agreement.

But that could prove very difficult with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), a group of politicians in Northern Ireland which are allied with the ruling U.K. Conservative Party, announcing that it couldn't support the deal as it stands.

That announcement sent sterling plunging more than 0.4% on Thursday morning, to 1.2765 against the dollar after trading near 1.2819.

The DUP said in a statement that it's unhappy with proposed customs and consent arrangements (designed to give Northern Ireland a say over its relationship with the EU post-Brexit) within the current proposals. The DUP has repeatedly opposed any plans that would see it treated differently from the U.K. after Brexit.

The U.K. government, which does not have a majority in the British Parliament, needs the DUP's support (and votes) if it is to have a chance to get a deal over the line when (and if) Parliament votes on Saturday to approve any deal.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks at the United Nations (UN) Climate Action Summit on September 23, 2019 in New York City.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Roller-coaster ride

Brexit talks on Wednesday resembled a roller-coaster ride with reports at times suggesting a deal had been reached only to be countered with others suggesting that stumbling blocks had been run into. This caused volatile moves in sterling and U.K. stocks.

As talks continued into Wednesday night, EU officials and leaders appeared positive that an agreement was possible, even as time was fast running out before an EU leaders summit in Brussels Thursday.

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, said there had been "good progress" in talks Wednesday evening and European Council President Donald Tusk said that "the basic foundations of this agreement are ready and theoretically we could accept a deal." German Chancellor Angela Merkel also said she was slightly more optimistic a deal could be reached.

Even if the EU agrees to a deal, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson still needs to gain domestic support for an agreement from the U.K. Parliament, which could happen in a special parliamentary session on Saturday.

'Fundamental shift'

Hopes for a Brexit deal were revived in early October when the British government tabled new proposals to circumvent the contentious Irish "backstop" — an insurance policy in the original Brexit deal designed to prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The backstop had been very unpopular among Brexiteers and the DUP who did not want Northern Ireland to be separated from the rest of the U.K. As such, Britain proposed new plans that would see Northern Ireland retain elements of EU single market membership but leave the customs union, necessitating customs checks.

To ensure the Irish border remained open, Britain suggested customs checks could take place away from the border but EU officials were skeptical about the practicality of those arrangements.

As talks continued this week, Britain was reported to have made more concessions over Northern Ireland, however, including suggesting that a customs border could be created down the Irish Sea — something that appeared to unnerve the DUP.

On Wednesday, the European Parliament's chief Brexit official, Guy Verhofstadt, said there had been a positive change in the U.K.'s position. Still, he recognized any deal still needs approval by the U.K. Parliament — and a majority of U.K. lawmakers rejected the last Brexit deal on offer three times over.

"There has been a fundamental shift (compared to) a week ago, where before, the proposals of Mr (Boris) Johnson were absolutely unacceptable," Verhofstadt told reporters Wednesday.

"(But) there has been a fundamental shift, that is clear. So, the question is now, can the outstanding issues on customs be resolved? And then the next step — but that is not in this parliament, it is in another parliament in Britain — is there a majority in the House of Commons for it?," he added.

If EU leaders can agree a Brexit deal, Johnson will then take it to the U.K. Parliament on Saturday. There is no guarantee that a majority of lawmakers will back the deal, however, with hard Brexiteers and Remain lawmakers poles apart on whether to back the deal or risk a no-deal Brexit on October 31.

If no deal is agreed on Saturday, Johnson has been legally bound by his parliamentary colleagues to ask the EU for an extension to the departure date. But the prime minister has said the U.K. must leave the EU on Oct. 31 come what may.

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2019-10-17 06:43:07Z
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Kim Jong Un channels inner Putin, rides white horse on sacred mountain in equine propaganda shoot - Fox News

Kim Jong Un is back in the saddle!

The North Korean leader, who in the past has displayed a penchant for elaborate propaganda photo shoots, channeled his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin this week after newly released images showed him riding horseback on a sacred mountain where it was said he was inspired to plan “a great operation” to overcome U.S.-led sanctions, local media reported.

The undated images released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday showed Kim, dressed in a long winter coat, riding a white horse on snow-covered Mount Paektu, the highest point on the Korean peninsula.

NORTH KOREA BLOCKS HIGH-RISE WINDOWS TO PREVENT INFORMATION LEAKS: REPORT

The mountain itself is a sacred place for the North Korean people, but the white horse also represents a propaganda symbol for the Kim dynasty.

Who rode it better? Kim Jong Un channeled his inner Vladimir Putin with the equine photo shoot (KCNA via AP/Getty)

"He, sitting on the horseback atop Mt Paektu, recollected with deep emotion the road of arduous struggle he covered for the great cause of building the most powerful country with faith and will as firm as Mt Paektu," KCNA reported Wednesday.

The government-run agency also said that during a visit later that day in Samjiyon County, Kim lamented the U.S.-led U.N. sanctions that were imposed after nuclear talks broke down.

"The situation of the country is difficult owing to the ceaseless sanctions and pressure by the hostile forces and there are many hardships and trials facing us," Kim was quoted as saying.

STATE DEPARTMENT , NORTH KOREA DISAGREE OVER WHETHER LATEST NUCLEAR TALKS BROKE DOWN 

"He, sitting on the horseback atop Mt Paektu, recollected with deep emotion the road of arduous struggle he covered for the great cause of building the most powerful country with faith and will as firm as Mt Paektu," KCNA reported Wednesday. (KCNA via AP)

“But our people grew stronger through the trials and found their own way of development and learned how to always win in the face of trials."

KCNA also reported that the visit to Mount Paektu inspired the 35-year-old leader to plan “a great operation” in response to the tough sanctions.

KIM JONG UN'S BIZARRE NORTH KOREA PROPAGANDA PHOTOS

“Having witnessed the great moments of his thinking atop Mt Paektu, all the officials accompanying him were convinced with overflowing emotion and joy that there will be a great operation to strike the world with wonder again and make a step forward in the Korean revolution.”

KCNA also reported that the visit to Mount Paektu inspired the 35-year-old leader to plan “a great operation” in response to the tough sanctions. <br data-cke-eol="1"> (KCNA via AP)

U.S. diplomats met with North Korean officials in Stockholm over the weekend, days after Pyongyang test-fired an underwater-launched missile. While North Korea argued that talks between the two shut down, the State Department said the “U.S. brought creative ideas and had good discussions.”

The State Department said that U.S. representatives have agreed to resume talks in two weeks but it was not clear if it involved a mutual agreement with North Korean negotiators.

The government-run agency also said that during a visit later that day in Samjiyon County, Kim lamented over the U.S.-led U.N. sanctions that were imposed after nuclear talks broke down. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

Kim previously visited the location before executing his powerful uncle in 2013 and entering into diplomacy with South Korea and the U.S. in 2018.

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Wednesday’s images were eerily similar to those of Putin, who was pictured shirtless riding a horse in Siberia’s southern Tuva region in 2009.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-10-16 13:58:03Z
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Turkey Urges Kurdish Fighters to Lay Down Their Arms - The New York Times

DOHUK, Iraq — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey called on Wednesday for Kurdish fighters battling his troops in northeastern Syria to lay down their weapons and withdraw from the border area “this very night.”

Resisting Western pressure to halt the operation, Mr. Erdogan also requested international support for his country’s battle against Kurdish fighters whom Turkey considers terrorists but who had been allied with the United States against the Islamic State.

Speaking to the Turkish Parliament, Mr. Erdogan said Turkey would not stop fighting until it had established a planned “safe zone” in Syria roughly 20 miles deep, from the town of Manbij in the west to the Iraqi border in the east.

Even as he spoke, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were traveling to Turkey with plans to meet Turkish officials on Thursday and press for a cease-fire.

Mr. Erdogan told a reporter from the British broadcaster Sky News: “I am standing tall. I will not meet with them. They will meet with their counterparts. I will speak when Trump comes.”

It was unclear if he was referring to Mr. Pence and Mr. Pompeo, but later, his communications director, Fahrettin Altun, wrote on Twitter in English: “Earlier today, the President told @SkyNews that he won’t receive a U.S. delegation that is visiting Ankara today. He does plan to meet the U.S. delegation led by @VP tomorrow.”

Mr. Erdogan also said he had told President Trump that a truce was not possible because Turkey does not negotiate with “terrorists.”

Turkey has faced widespread Western criticism and threats of economic sanctions and arms embargoes because of the incursion, which aims to sweep Kurdish fighters away from the Turkish border.

But Mr. Erdogan has billed the incursion as necessary for his country’s security and as a way to get some of the millions of refugees to return to Syria.

On Wednesday, he said: “If, this very night, all terrorists leave their weapons, equipment, everything, destroy the traps they have set up and leave the safe zone we designated in the region from Manbij to the Iraqi border, then our Peace Spring operation, which only targets terrorists, will end by itself.”

The incursion began after Mr. Trump ordered United States forces to leave the region, paving the way for Mr. Erdogan to send in his troops and proxy militias. The decision also shattered a partnership with a Kurdish-led militia in Syria that had been essential to the international fight against the Islamic State and gave Russia an opportunity to fill the security vacuum.

The United States is now moving ahead with withdrawing the rest of its roughly 1,000 troops from northeastern Syria, opening a void that other combatants in the country’s eight-year-old war have sought to fill.

Turkey and the Syrian fighters it supports are battling for control of two border towns, while Syrian government forces have pressed north, seizing territory that was until recently protected by the United States and its Kurdish partners.

Turkey considers Syria’s Kurdish-led militia a security threat because of its links to a guerrilla movement that has been fighting an insurgency against the Turkish state for decades.

United States officials privately acknowledge those links, but say that Syrian Kurds had not launched attacks on Turkey until the military incursion began last week.

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2019-10-16 12:32:00Z
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