Donald Trump warned Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan history will "look upon you forever as the devil" and again threatened to destroy the country's economy in a bizarre letter last week.
The US President's threatening letter to his Turkish counterpart has been described as "weird" and "like a hoax", with some suggesting it was penned by writers at popular satire site The Onion, rather than the White House.
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It comes after the US pulled troops from northern Syria, abandoning Kurdish allies which helped in the fight against Islamic State. Turkey saw the withdrawal as an opportunity to attack Kurdish groups it claims have been launching terrorist attacks on its territory - leading to reports its troops have been committing war crimes.
Russia and Syrian troops have also rushed to fill the vacuum, with Trump's blessing, and hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled the carnage.
US Vice President Mike Pence is set to meet Erdogan soon.
The letter, dated October 9, begins with a typically Trumpian offer, complete with an exclamation mark: "Let's work out a good deal!"
He then goes on to threaten the US' NATO ally.
"You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy - and I will. I've already given you a little sample with respect to Pastor Brunson," referring to Andrew Brunson, an American church leader who was released from a Turkish prison in 2018 after the US put sanctions on Turkey, which accused Brunson of being a spy.
"I have worked hard to solve some of your problems," Trump wrote. "Don't let the world down. You can make a great deal. General Mazloum is willing to negotiate with you, and he is willing to make concessions that they would never have made in the past."
Trump ramps up the threatening language in the final paragraph.
"History will look upon you favourably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don't happen. Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool! I will call you later."
First revealed by Fox News, many commentators at first thought it was a joke
"This letter Trump sent to Erdogan is 'so weird we had to check with the White House to make sure it's real'," MSNBC's headline blared.
"Trump's Erdogan letter seems like a hoax ... it's real," read CNN's.
"This letter from Trump to Erdogan would make more sense if it were written in crayon on lined practice paper rather than on White House letterhead," Washington Post political reporter Brian Klaas wrote on Twitter.
"Felt the need to ask WH if this is actually real and it is," added New York Times White House correspondent Katie Rogers.
Trump has previously denied the US withdrawal should have been seen as a green-light for Turkey to take out retribution on the Kurds.
But on Thursday (NZ time) he appeared to have changed his mind, saying the Kurds were "no angels" and it was "strategically brilliant" for the US to leave.
"It's a lot of sand," he said, dismissing the fighting as "nothing to do with us".
"They're going to argue it out, maybe they're going to fight it out. But our men aren't going to get killed over it."
The United Nations says it has documented war crimes being committed by Turkish troops in the week since the letter was sent, including executions of captured Kurdish fighters and civilian casualties.
"We urge Turkish authorities immediately to launch an impartial, transparent and independent investigation and to apprehend those responsible, some of whom should be easily identifiable from the video footage they themselves shared on social media," said human rights spokesperson Rupert Colville.
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