DONALD Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday agreed to prevent a power vacuum in Syria after US ground forces withdraw, in a phone conversation days after the American president shocked global partners by announcing he is pulling troops from the war-scarred country.

Turkey was a rare ally that lauded Trump’s momentous decision to bring home the 2,000 US troops in Syria, where they have been helping in a multinational fight against the Islamic State.

“The two leaders agreed to ensure coordination between their countries’ military, diplomatic and other officials to avoid a power vacuum that could result following any abuse of the withdrawal and transition phase in Syria,” the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

Hours earlier, Trump tweeted that he and Erdogan “discussed IS, our mutual involvement in Syria, & the slow & highly coordinated pullout of US troops from the area”.

Erdogan tweeted shortly thereafter, saying the two leaders “agreed to increase coordination on many issues including trade relations and the developments in Syria”, dubbing the call “productive”.

US troops will leave under the auspices of a new Pentagon chief set to start next month, after Jim Mattis resigned from the post citing key differences, including on Syria, with the often-impulsive Trump.

An American exit will allow Turkish troops to move against Kurdish fighters in Syria who have played a key role in the war against IS, but are deemed terrorists by Ankara.

Many US politicians and international allies fear that the withdrawal is premature and would further destabilise the already devastated region.

A US withdrawal, said Mutlu Civiroglu, a Kurdish affairs analyst, will open the way “for Turkey to start its operations against the Kurds, and a bloody war will begin”.

French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday said he “deeply regretted” Trump’s decision, and that “an ally must be reliable”.

Several US politicians from both parties have rejected Trump’s claim that IS has been defeated, and many in the US military expressed alarm and dismay at the thought of suddenly abandoning Washington’s Kurdish partners.

And, Trump’s sudden decision sparked turmoil within his administration, prompting the resignation of Mattis as well as of Brett McGurk, the special envoy to the anti-IS coalition.

Plans for the troop withdrawal will now be overseen by Deputy Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan, who Trump yesterday said will replace Mattis starting January 1.

Mattis, 68, previously said he would leave at the end of February to allow a smooth transition for the next chief of the world’s top military power – but a reportedly angry Trump accelerated his departure by two months.

Defence spokesman Dana White tweeted that Mattis will still assist in the handover, working with Shanahan to ensure the department “remains focused on the defence of our nation during this transition”.

According to US media, the Republican leader voiced resentment over news coverage of Mattis’ stinging resignation letter that laid bare his fundamental disagreements with the president.

“Because you have the right to have a secretary of defence whose views are better aligned with yours,” Mattis said in the letter, “I believe it is right for me to step down from my position”.

“My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues.”

Days later, special envoy McGurk made a similar move, saying he could not support Trump’s Syria decision, which he said “left our coalition partners confused and our fighting partners bewildered”. – AFP, December 24, 2018.