Vice President Mike Pence with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Turkey today to sit down with Turkey President Erdogan. They spent more than 5 hours negotiating a successful ceasefire agreement in which Turkey agrees to pause operation ‘Peace Spring’ for the next 120 hours. This pause will allow the withdrawal of YPG forces (Kurds).
President Donald Trump takes a victory lap in the tweet below.
“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!”
SEE TWEET FROM @realDonaldTrump BELOW:
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2019
Mike Pence spoke with reporters after the conclusion of the meeting with President Erdogan. Below is an excerpt from an article by CNBC:
“I spoke to President Trump just a few moments ago. And I know the president is very grateful for President Erdogan’s willingness to step forward, to enact this cease fire, and to give an opportunity for a peaceful solution to this conflict that commenced one week ago,” Pence said.
Pence said the cease fire also involved a Turkish agreement to take no military action against the strategic border town of Kobani, which was taken by Syrian forces allied with President Bashar Assad on Wednesday.
“In addition, the United States and Turkey have both mutually committed to a peaceful resolution and future for the safe zone, working on an international basis to ensure that peace and security defines this border region with Syria,” he said.
Pence hailed the cease fire as a “great contribution to security in this region, and a great contribution to the strong and enduring relationship between the United States of America and Turkey.”
Not many in Congress on either side have shown support for President Donald Trump’s removal of 50 U.S. troops from the Kurdish occupied area of Syria. Despite being the minority on this topic in both parties, U.S. Senator Rand Paul has thus far come out on the winning end on this for supporting President Trump’s action to remove the Troops. Paul congratulates President Trump in a Tweet.
“Thanks @realdonaldtrump for achieving a quick diplomatic breakthrough in the Turkey-Syria conflict.”
SEE TWEET FROM @RandPaul BELOW:
Thanks @realdonaldtrump for achieving a quick diplomatic breakthrough in the Turkey-Syria conflict.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) October 17, 2019
Even with just a temporary ceasefire, this opens the door for the Kurds to leave the area peacefully so that Turkey can establish a safe zone.
