President Donald Trump on Sunday claimed that troops will withdraw from Syria but "we won't be finally pulled out until ISIS is gone." | AP Photo/Alex Brandon White House Trump claims Syria withdrawal plan hasn't changed

President Donald Trump on Monday pushed back against reports that national security adviser John Bolton had contradicted the president's initial plans to quickly withdraw troops from Syria, saying the U.S. will leave the war-torn country at "a proper pace."

"The Failing New York Times has knowingly written a very inaccurate story on my intentions on Syria," the president wrote in a tweet. "No different from my original statements, we will be leaving at a proper pace while at the same time continuing to fight ISIS and doing all else that is prudent and necessary!....."


Trump last month abruptly announced that he was pulling U.S. troops out of Syria — a longtime campaign promise that prompted the resignation of Jim Mattis as Defense secretary and heavy criticism from several Republican lawmakers.

Since then, White House officials have downplayed Trump's declaration, with Bolton most recently putting conditions on withdrawing troops from Syria that could delay the pullout months or even years.

Bolton told reporters during a trip to Israel that Turkish operations must “meet the president’s requirement that the Syrian opposition forces that have fought with us are not endangered" before pulling out U.S. troops.

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“We don’t think the Turks ought to undertake military action that’s not fully coordinated with and agreed to by the United States, at a minimum, so they don’t endanger our troops,” Bolton said.

The president on Sunday claimed that troops will withdraw from Syria, but "we won't be finally pulled out until ISIS is gone."