Turkey defiant on Syria issue as US calls for ceasefire

Turkey rebuffed international pressure to curb its military offensive against Kurdish militants in Syria yesterday as US President Donald Trump dispatched his deputy Mike Pence to Ankara to demand a ceasefire. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would not meet with Pence, as the White House had planned for today, and rejected any negotiations with Kurdish militants.

The only way to solve Syria’s problems, he told parliament, was for the Kurdish forces to “lay down their arms... destroy all their traps and get out of the safe zone that we have designated.” Battles raged in the key Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain on Wednesday, with Kurdish fighters trying to hold off the onslaught by Turkish-backed forces, now in its second week.

The fighting has triggered a flurry of diplomacy among major powers, with Trump dispatching Pence along with his top diplomat Mike Pompeo to Turkey amid the greatest crisis in relations for decades between the NATO allies. But Erdogan told Sky News: “I will not meet with them. I will speak when Trump comes.”

Moscow has stepped into the void left by Trump’s withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria, deploying patrols to prevent clashes between Syrian and Turkish forces. Russian TV showed its forces alongside Syrian troops taking up positions in and around the key town of Manbij following the US pull-back.

 

Turkey defiant on Syria issue as US calls for ceasefire

Turkey rebuffed international pressure to curb its military offensive against Kurdish militants in Syria yesterday as US President Donald Trump dispatched his deputy Mike Pence to Ankara to demand a ceasefire. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would not meet with Pence, as the White House had planned for today, and rejected any negotiations with Kurdish militants. The only way to solve Syrias problems, he told parliament, was for the Kurdish forces to lay down their arms... destroy all their traps and get out of the safe zone that we have designated. Battles raged in the key Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain on Wednesday, with Kurdish fighters trying to hold off the onslaught by Turkish-backed forces, now in its second week. The fighting has triggered a flurry of diplomacy among major powers, with Trump dispatching Pence along with his top diplomat Mike Pompeo to Turkey amid the greatest crisis in relations for decades between the NATO allies. But Erdogan told Sky News: I will not meet with them. I will speak when Trump comes. Moscow has stepped into the void left by Trumps withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria, deploying patrols to prevent clashes between Syrian and Turkish forces. Russian TV showed its forces alongside Syrian troops taking up positions in and around the key town of Manbij following the US pull-back.