Trump Admin Announces Ceasefire Between Turkey And The Kurds

By
Jordan Riddle
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Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Thursday that the Turkish military has agreed to a ceasefire with Kurdish forces.

During a press conference on Thursday, Pence announced there would be no further attacks or advances for “120 hours” to “allow for the withdrawal of YPG forces” from a 20-mile zone.

“Earlier this week, President Trump took decisive action to call on Turkish forces to stand down, to end the violence, to agree to negotiations,” Pence continued per the Western Journal, “and today I’m proud to report, thanks to the strong leadership of President Donald Trump and the strong relationship between President Erdogan and Turkey and the United States of America that today the United States and Turkey have agreed to a ceasefire in Syria.”

“The United States of America will work with Turkey — will work with nations around the world — to make sure peace and stability are the order of the day in this safe zone,” Pence said during the presser, ABC News reports.

ABC News reports:

Following negotiations — led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vice President Mike Pence — the two sides released a joint statement that said Turkey “will pause” its operations for 120 hours for those Kurdish forces to withdraw from a 20-mile-deep territory that will then be controlled by Turkey.

Turkey’s operation in northern Syria “will be halted upon completion of this withdrawal,” which will be facilitated by the U.S., according to Pence.

“Our team is already working with YPG personnel in the safe zone for an orderly withdrawal outside the 20-mile mark and we’re going to go forward together to bring peace and security to this region, I’m very confident of that,” Pence told reporters during a press conference.

According to the report, the two leaders differed on what to call the agreement. Although Pence referred to the agreement as a “ceasefire,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu clarified it was a “pause in Turkey’s operation” and “not a ceasefire.”

Pence later took to Twitter to credit Trump’s “strong leadership” for the temporary halt in violence in Northern Syria.

“Thanks to the strong leadership of President @realdonaldtrump, today the United States and Turkey have agreed to a ceasefire in Syria,” Vice President Pence tweeted.

President Trump praised the agreement in a tweet of his own where he said: “millions of lives will be saved.”

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“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. Millions of lives will be saved. Congratulations to ALL!” Trump echoed in another tweet.

“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!” Trump added in a third tweet.

There is some speculation around the ceasefire and how it is being presented, however. Republican Senator Marco Rubio said the agreement sounds like Erdogan got everything he was looking for.

“Turkish FM is describing the supposed ‘CeaseFire’ agreement almost precisely as I described Erdogan’s ultimate goal yesterday,” Rubio tweeted. “Looks like he got everything he wanted.”

There has also been some reports of ceasefire violations the day after it was announced: