United States' President Donald Trump has on Wednesday announced that he asked the National Security Adviser (NSA), John Bolton to resign after 17 months of appointment, saying he disagreed with Bolton's suggestions.
Trump made this announcement via his official twitter handle, saying "I thank John very much for his service. I will be naming a new National Security Advisor next week."
“I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House,”
“I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning. I thank John very much for his service.”
However, shortly after Bolton in a tweet said he offered to resign voluntarily. "I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, 'Let's talk about it tomorrow."
Bolton was supposed to appear today at a White House briefing alongside Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin to talk on terrorism.
In his resignation letter, he thanked Trump for the opportunity.
'I hereby resign, effective immediately, as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Thank you for having afforded me this opportunity to serve our country."
President Trump has said he would be picking Bolton's replacement next week.
Bolton was Trump's third National Security Adviser after Micheal Flynn and H.R McMaster.
When asked, Pompeo who for some months has feuded with Bolton said he wasn't surprised by the development, adding that the president "should have people that he trusts and values, and whose efforts and judgments benefit him in delivering American foreign policy."
Bolton is known for his conservative and stringent outlook on issues, with the most recent when he was aggravated by Trump's decision to meet with North Korea's Kim Jong Un at the demilitarized zone as well as his decision to call off an airstrike on Iran in retaliation to the of an American surveillance drone.
Despite his resignation, some North Korean officials have opined that the development may not ease the tension between the two countries. Hesameddin Ashena, a top political official of Iran's Rouhani tweeted that the blockade against Iran would end and Bolton's resignation is “a definitive sign that Washington’s maximum pressure on Iran has failed.”
Meanwhile, Charles M. Kupperman, the deputy national security adviser, would serve in an acting capacity.
