Trump administration: We are not withdrawing from Syria, but moving our troops from the north of the country to other areas

 "This is not a withdrawal of our troops from Syria. It is about transferring a few military personnel to be deployed to other bases in Syria." said the official, who spoke by telephone to some media on Monday evening.

The spokesman, who was not identified, explained that the region, which Turkey intends to launch a military operation, currently hosts 50 US military, but added that this move has not yet begun.

Earlier on Monday, the United States began withdrawing its troops from northeastern Syria near the border with Turkey, amid recent preparations for a military operation to clear the territory of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) active in the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) coalition with war against ISIS, which Ankara considers a terrorist organization and an arm of the PKK.

In the meantime, US President Donald Trump has vowed to "destroy and demolish" Turkey's economy if it takes any step "beyond the borders" in Syria.

Trump also announced that he had warned Erdogan of the repercussions of the injury of any US soldier as a result of the Turkish operation in northeastern Syria, indicating that this will lead to "significant problems."