"I am pleased to announce that our very talented Deputy Secretary of Defence, Patrick Shanahan, will assume the title of Acting Secretary of Defense starting January 1, 2019. Patrick has a long list of accomplishments while serving as Deputy, & previously Boeing. He will be great!" Trump wrote on Twitter.
READ MORE: SDF: Daesh Ramps Up Attacks on Kurds After US Report of Troop Pullout From Syria
The US president also noted he had had a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the crucial issues, concerning the military withdrawal from Syria.
I just had a long and productive call with President @RT_Erdogan of Turkey. We discussed ISIS, our mutual involvement in Syria, & the slow & highly coordinated pullout of U.S. troops from the area. After many years they are coming home. We also discussed heavily expanded Trade.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 23 декабря 2018 г.
The move followed Trump’s decision to pull out all 2,000 troops from Syria starting immediately after he declared victory over the Daesh* terror group.
* Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/IS/Islamic State) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia
