"Do not be fooled!" : Trump's surrealist letter to Erdogan against Syria offensive

"History will judge you favorably if you act in a fair and humane way, and it will forever be considered as the devil if things go wrong," warns the White House tenant, without further details. But the most surrealist is in the conclusion: "Do not play hard! Do not fool yourself!" Writes Donald Trump, before ending with "I'll call you later".

The letter dates from the day the Turkish president launched his troops to attack the Kurds in northern Syria. For the moment Ankara refuses a cease-fire despite this missive. On Wednesday, US Vice President Mike Pence and Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo flew to Turkey to meet Erdogan.

Donald Trump, for his part, if he claims peace, nevertheless defends his decision to withdraw American troops from Syrian soil. To those who point out that the United States has a special responsibility towards the Kurds, who fought alongside them against the jihadists of the EI group, the Republican replied on October 16 that the Kurds "are not angels" and that they "know how to fight". He also added, which is sure to please Erdogan, that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is "probably" a greater "terrorist threat" than ISIS.

Across the Atlantic, Trump's letter to Erdogan sparked many reactions, mostly shocked. Some describe the missive as "frightening", others as "embarrassing", while others see it as proof that the American president is "mentally unstable".

During a meeting at the White House with Democrats, Donald Trump has none the less, according to them, praised his letter.