SHAFAQNA- Mike Pence, the vice president of the United States, said Washington and Ankara have agreed to a ceasefire in northeast Syria. However, Turkish foreign minister said this is “not a ceasefire” but said they will “pause the operation” in Syria.
America and Turkey on Thursday agreed a 120-hour ceasefire in North East Syria to allow Kurdish fighters to withdraw from the region, temporarily ending the fighting.
Mike Pence, the US vice president, said that Turkey had promised to pause military action so the YPG, the Kurdish force which helped America combat ISIS, could leave the area, telegraph reported.
The deal made with Turkey is “essentially validating” the Turkish offensive, a senior US official told CNN.
“This is essentially the US validating what Turkey did and allowing them to annex a portion of Syria and displace the Kurdish population,” the official said.
“This is what Turkey wanted and what POTUS green lighted. I do think one reason Turkey agreed to it is because of the Kurds have put up more of a resistance and they could not advance south any further as a result. If we don’t impose sanctions then Turkey wins big time.”
About the terms of the ceasefire: As part of that agreement, the US convinced the Syrian Kurds/SDF to dismantle their defensive fortifications and pull troops from the border to appease Turkey.
The US also conducted joint patrols and shared intelligence with the Turkish military as part of that arrangement.
The Kurds complied with the request to pull back and dismantle their fortifications. Turkey opted to invade despite those efforts.
UN chief welcomes Syria de-escalation efforts
Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, welcomed efforts to de-escalate hostilities in northeast Syria and protect civilians, according to a spokesman.
In a brief statement, the UN said “the secretary-general recognises that there is still a long way to go for an effective solution to the crisis in Syria”, Aljazeera reported.