Mike
Pence, the vice president of the United States, announced Thursday a ceasefire
agreement in northern Syria to allow the withdrawal of Kurdish forces from the
'safe zone' demanded by Turkey.
"The
United States and Turkey have agreed to a ceasefire in Syria", said Pence,
who met during the day with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In this
regard, he explained that Ankara will allow the withdrawal of the Kurdish
militia from the 'safe zone' "for 120 hours".
"We
have begun to facilitate its safe withdrawal of about 32 kilometers from the
border", he said, while stressing that there is an agreement with Turkey
to "not initiate military operations against Kobane".
He also
said that both countries "commit to a peaceful resolution for a 'safe
zone', working on an international basis, to ensure that peace and security define
this border area of Syria".
"In
addition, Turkey and the United States have pledged to defeat Islamic State
activities in northeastern Syria and coordinate efforts at detention facilities
and displaced persons in areas previously controlled by Islamic State".
Pence
has emphasized that Erdogan has moved "the priority of respecting
vulnerable human lives, Human Rights and religious and ethnic communities in
the region".
Pence
has also indicated that, had this agreement not been reached today, the US Government
would have announced "massive sanctions" against Ankara.
"Trump
has decided to withdraw the economic sanctions once the operation is
completed," he explained, before stressing that once the ceasefire is
under way Washington "will not impose new sanctions" against Turkey.
"Great
news"
After
that, Donald Trump has stressed through his Twitter account that "this
agreement could never have been reached three days ago. It was necessary that
there was a little hard hand to achieve it. Great for everyone", he said.
Minutes before the appearance of Pence, the
president had stressed that there was "great news from Turkey" and
thanked Erdogan. "Millions of lives will be saved", he settled.
SOURCE: EITB
