U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have reached a deal to suspend a Turkish military offensive in northern Syria for 120 hours.
The five-day ceasefire is designed to allow Kurdish (YPG) forces to withdraw from a designated safe zone on the northern border.
Pence said the U.S. and Turkey have “mutually committed to peaceful resolution and future for the safe zone.”
“All military operations under Operation Peace Spring will be paused, and Operation Peace Spring will be halted entirely on completion of the withdrawal,” he told reporters from the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey.
Pence met Erdogan earlier on Thursday as part of a U.S. mission to persuade Turkey to halt an offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syria. The two agreed to halt the cross-border military operation after more than four hours of talks.
Turkish troops and Turkish-backed Syrian fighters launched their assault on Kurdish forces in northern Syria a week ago, two days after Trump announced he was withdrawing the U.S. from the area. Trump has been accused of abandoning Kurdish fighters, longtime allies of the U.S. who helped defeat the Islamic State.
Turkey has long outlawed Kurdish fighters and consider them a terrorist organization. The military’s assault has spurred a new humanitarian crisis in Syria. According to Reuters, more than 200,000 civilians have fled the northern region.
Turkey has long outlawed Kurdish fighters and consider them a terrorist organization. The military’s assault has spurred a new humanitarian crisis in Syria. According to Reuters, more than 200,000 civilians have fled the northern region.
The U.S. president has been unflinching on his decision, calling it “strategically brilliant” on Wednesday. He has cast aside criticism and allegations of abandonment, saying he was fulfilling a campaign promise to bring U.S. troops home from “endless wars” in the Middle East.
Pence told reporters that he spoke with Trump, and that he’s “very grateful” to Erdogan for facilitating the ceasefire.
Trump congratulated the pair in a tweet.
“We’ve got everything we could’ve ever dreamed of. We’ll also be able to bring our people back home,” Trump told reporters from Texas shortly after the announcement.
“It’s a great day for the United States, it’s a great day for Turkey… It’s really a great day for civilization.”
Trump claimed the deal will ensure there is “total control” over ISIS. “They’re never going to be ruling us,” he said.
He went on to thank the Kurds. He said the solution — which he described as a “tough love approach” — “changed their lives.”
— With files from Reuters