Turkey Rejects US Call For Immediate Ceasefire
Turkish President Recepì Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed a US call from President Donald Trump for an immediate ceasefire in north-eastern Syria, insisting the operation will continue until his country's objectives have been achieved.
He said Turkey will never back down and declare a ceasefire, adding that it will not negotiate with Kurdish forces it is fighting in its offensive into the region.
US vice president Mike Pence, who is travelling to Turkey, had called on Ankara to "stand down, end the violence and come to the negotiating table". On Tuesday, Washington also imposed sanctions on Turkey to punish it for the offensive, freezing their US assets and making US transactions with them a crime. “They say ‘declare a ceasefire’. We will never declare a ceasefire,” Erdogan said. “They are pressuring us to stop the operation. They are announcing sanctions. Our goal is clear. We are not worried about any sanctions,” he said. The fast-deteriorating situation arose after Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from northern Syria opened the door to Turkey’s invasion. Turkey launched an offensive into Kurdish-held territory in northern Syria it said is aimed at creating a “safe zone” for Syrian refugees by removing the Kurdish-led forces. It considers elements of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) a terrorist organisation. The move comes after the Syrian Kurds sealed a deal with the regime and its Russian backers to fend off Turkey’s invasion. Dozens of civilians have been killed and at least 160,000 people have fled their homes since the offensive began. A Turkish soldier was also killed and three soldiers were wounded in the heavy clashes between Turkish forces and the SDF, Turkey’s Defence Ministry said. Dozens of fighters from the SDF and pro-Turkish factions have also been killed.
US vice president Mike Pence, who is travelling to Turkey, had called on Ankara to "stand down, end the violence and come to the negotiating table". On Tuesday, Washington also imposed sanctions on Turkey to punish it for the offensive, freezing their US assets and making US transactions with them a crime. “They say ‘declare a ceasefire’. We will never declare a ceasefire,” Erdogan said. “They are pressuring us to stop the operation. They are announcing sanctions. Our goal is clear. We are not worried about any sanctions,” he said. The fast-deteriorating situation arose after Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from northern Syria opened the door to Turkey’s invasion. Turkey launched an offensive into Kurdish-held territory in northern Syria it said is aimed at creating a “safe zone” for Syrian refugees by removing the Kurdish-led forces. It considers elements of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) a terrorist organisation. The move comes after the Syrian Kurds sealed a deal with the regime and its Russian backers to fend off Turkey’s invasion. Dozens of civilians have been killed and at least 160,000 people have fled their homes since the offensive began. A Turkish soldier was also killed and three soldiers were wounded in the heavy clashes between Turkish forces and the SDF, Turkey’s Defence Ministry said. Dozens of fighters from the SDF and pro-Turkish factions have also been killed.
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