Trump’s Advisers Gave Him Option to Recognize Armenian Genocide as Tactic to Pressure Turkey

WASHINGTON, DC — Donald Trump’s advisers offered him several options aimed at fulfilling his desire to pull back U.S. troops in Syria without allowing Turkey to commence its incursion.

One tactic on the table was “threatening” Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide, a National Security Council official told Newsweek magazine.

As Newsweek reported Wednesday, the president was presented by his top officials with a number of plans to realize his desired exit from war-torn Syria, where a U.S.-led coalition largely defeated the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) with the help of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led militia that included separatist groups seen as terrorists by NATO ally Turkey. These tactics included economic and political pressure moves, but Trump opted instead for a hasty departure to avoid an upcoming clash between two forces the U.S. considered friendly.