US Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Pompeo arrived in Ankara on Thursday to discuss the ongoing Turkish military operation in northern Syria.
The US and Turkey have agreed to a ceasefire in Syria to allow the withdrawal of YPG forces from the area, US Vice President Mike Pence said, adding that it will last 120 hours.
US President Donald Trump took to Twitter to react to the news.
Great news out of Turkey. News Conference shortly with @VP and @SecPompeo. Thank you to @RTErdogan. Millions of lives will be saved!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2019
Pence said that with the implementation of the ceasefire the US will not impose further sanctions on Turkey. Trump has confirmed that sanctions will no be no longer necessary. He also called Erdogan ‘a tough man’ who did the right thing.
He added that the withdrawal of Kurdish YPG is already underway. The US will not have military personnel on the ground, Pence said.
Trump went on tweeting, praising the efforts which were taken to reach an agreement with Turkey.
This deal could NEVER have been made 3 days ago. There needed to be some “tough” love in order to get it done. Great for everybody. Proud of all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2019
Meanwhile, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Ankara had agreed with Washington that Turkish forces would control a safe zone in northern Syria. According to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Ankara will consider ending its military operation only after the withdrawal of Syrian Kurds forces.
Turkey started a military operation in northern Syria on 9 October, shortly after the US announced that it was withdrawing its troops from the region. Ankara says the operation is aimed at ousting Kurdish militants from the border area and setting up a safe zone for about 3 million Syrian refugees. Damascus condemned the operation by calling it an act of aggression that undermines Syria’s territorial integrity. Turkey has also faced strong international criticism for its decision to start an offensive in Syria.
ABC News attempted to pass off footage from a 2017 gun range show as evidence of Turkey bombing Kurdish civilians in order to blame President Trump.
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