Breaking with some Republican leaders, U.S. Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, declined to say outright in an interview Wednesday whether he supported or opposed President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northeast Syria earlier this week.

The withdrawal has drawn bipartisan criticism in the wake of an attack Wednesday by Turkish forces on Kurds living in the area.

In an interview with Boise-based radio station, 670 KBOI, Risch said he didn’t think American forces were wholly preventing the attack.

“Would (Turkey) have moved without the president pulling the troops?” Risch told interviewer Nate Shelman. “Maybe they would have, maybe they wouldn’t have. It would’ve complicated things worse if they had moved while we were still there.”

When pressed, Risch did not give Shelman a definitive answer on whether he supports Trump’s decision.

“You keep wanting me to say, ‘I support, or I oppose.’ He is the commander in chief,” Risch said. “I support that America has a commander in chief, and he has to make decisions on the battlefield, and that’s how these decisions should be made, is on the battlefield.”

He added, “Once the commander in chief makes a decision, whatever that decision is, America needs to get behind the commander in chief or we got a huge problem.”

Congress is divided on this issue, Risch said, noting many members didn’t support American forces being in the region to begin with, because there “hadn’t been authorization for a use of military force in that area.”

The Kurds, who live throughout Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq, are an American ally, and roughly 11,000 Kurdish troops have died assisting American forces in the fight against ISIS.

Turkey’s government, another American ally, sees the Kurds as terrorists, and points to a minority of Kurdish freedom fighters who have committed terrorism within Turkey in the past.

Until earlier this week, 1,000 American soldiers were stationed in northeast Syria and were widely believed to be something of a peacekeeping presence, preventing a Turkish attack on the Kurds. The attack, when it did come, arrived days after American forces left; so far it is estimated at least at least 16 Kurdish soldiers have died and another 33 have been wounded, Foreign Policy reported on Thursday. It is believed another 13 civilians have been wounded, the magazine reported.

A spokesman for Kurdish forces on Monday called the withdrawal of American forces a “stab in the back,” Reuters reported.

Risch pointed out Trump had long intended to pull troops from the area, and said Trump announced the process in December. He said he believes the volatile situation needs to stabilize before American forces enter the area again.

In a statement on Twitter Thursday, Risch said: “Turkey’s aggressive actions raise serious concerns. … The Kurds, who have borne the brunt of the fighting against ISIS, have been instrumental in preventing the terrorist group’s resurgence. All parties should immediately de-escalate and return to border security discussions.”

BACKLASH

In a Wednesday night press conference, Trump told national news outlets the Kurds were fighting for “their land,” and said the group had not helped American forces during World War II.

“They didn’t help us in the Second World War, they didn’t help us with Normandy, for example,” Trump said.

The decision to withdraw troops has sparked condemnation from Democrats and Republicans alike, with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tweeting it would be “DISGRACEFUL if we sat idly by while Turkey slaughters the Kurds.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, tweeted a rare criticism of the president’s decision on Wednesday.

“Pray for our Kurdish allies who have been shamelessly abandoned by the Trump Administration,” Graham wrote in the tweet. “This move ensures the reemergence of ISIS.”

That followed criticism from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who earlier in the week warned the president against withdrawing from the area, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Risch’s disinclination to publicly criticize Trump is well-known on Capitol Hill, something Democrats and commentators have criticized him for, even as some Republicans have lauded him for it. He recently told the Idaho Press he does not believe he can best serve the country by fighting with the president.

“The president and I have disagreements, but I have found the best way to try and have some influence is to keep it between he and I,” he told Idaho Press reporter Betsy Russell in Washington, D.C., last month.

In Wednesday’s interview, he said he would meet with Trump about the situation in northeast Syria.

He also said he did support economic sanctions against Turkey as a result of the attack, something other legislators also support, although Risch said he was “more ratcheted back” on the issue than he once was. On Wednesday, Graham tweeted, he had “reached a bipartisan agreement” with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, which would impose sanctions on Turkey as a result of its invasion of Syria.

“While the Administration refuses to act against Turkey, I expect strong bipartisan support,” Graham tweeted.

Risch, however, preferred a less bellicose approach.

“For me to say, ‘Well, President Trump, you should’ve done this, or you shouldn’t have done it’ — look, now, I will be having a discussion with the president about this, and we will have a discussion as to the reasons and things behind it,” Risch told Shelman. “I absolutely guarantee you that he has more information than I have right now. … I’m not in the position right now to criticize. What I want to do is get behind our troops, get behind our commander, and get us to a better place.”