"The State Department and defense, actually, as well as the military on the ground, [U.S. Central Command] and all that. Different positions. There is no clear strategy, this is the problem," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said. | Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images Foreign Policy Turkish foreign minister says he has no idea what the U.S. policy in Syria is

Turkey has no idea what the U.S. policy in Syria is, the country's foreign minister told a Washington audience Wednesday, noting contradictory statements coming from different parts of the Trump administration.

"No. And this is the problem," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said when asked point blank what the U.S. Syria policy is.


"I don't want to make comments about the internal methods of your country, but again, different positions, different statements coming from different institutions and departments in the U.S.," he said. "The State Department and defense, actually, as well as the military on the ground, [U.S. Central Command] and all that. Different positions. There is no clear strategy, this is the problem."

President Donald Trump in December announced a complete and speedy withdrawal of all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, due to the impending defeat of the Islamic State in that country. The administration has since said it will leave 200 troops, then 400, and now it could be as much as 1,000. The administration has also stretched out the timeline of the withdrawals.

Çavuşoğlu, speaking at the NATO Engages summit in Washington, said the U.S. and Turkey have established a task force that has met three times to sort out the issue. He also plans to discuss the matter with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton this week.