Turkish President Erdogan has agreed to a five-day ceasefire inside of Syria, allowing Kurdish troops to withdraw from the area; This decision comes after meeting with US Vice President Pence & Secretary of State Pompeo; Newly imposed sanctions from the US also likely had an effect; Pence: The Turkish side will pause Operation Peace Spring in order to allow for the withdrawal of Kurdish YPG forces from the safe zone for 120 hours.
In a surprise announcement amid the conflict inside of Syria, Turkish President Erdogan has agreed to a five-day ceasefire after speaking with US officials Vice President Mike Pence & Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. This ‘pause’ regarding Operation ‘Spring of Peace’ will allow the Kurdish forces to withdraw from the area before Turkey resumes their mission. The US forces in the region are helping to facilitate this withdrawal of Kurdish forces.
After the meeting, Vice President Pence told the press, “The Turkish side will pause Operation Peace Spring in order to allow for the withdrawal of Kurdish YPG forces from the safe zone for 120 hours…All military operations under Operation Peace Spring will be paused, and Operation Peace Spring will be halted entirely on completion of the withdrawal. Our administration has already been in contact with Syrian defense forces, and we have already begun to facilitate their safe withdrawal from the nearly 20-mile 32-km. wide safe zone area south of the Turkish border in Syria.”
President Trump praised the negotiation, stating, “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! This is a great day for civilization. I am proud of the United States for sticking by me in following a necessary, but somewhat unconventional, path. People have been trying to make this ‘Deal’ for many years,”.
The United States will wait until a permanent ceasefire is instituted before completely withdrawing all newly implemented economic sanctions on Turkey. The basis of the negotiation is the common interest of eradicating ISIS from the region, with the hopes of bringing peace, and the US wants to keep that the focus. The hope is for this operation to end sooner rather than later, as Turkey claims that once all terrorist militants are removed, the operation will have served its purpose. Additionally, Turkey’s invasion is reported to have created a new humanitarian crisis, with over 200,000 Syrians being affected.
Syria certainly continues to be the hotbed of civil unrest.
