Trump Called Turkey’s President to Demand an End to Syrian Invasion

• 10.15.2019, 14:09
•  Region,  Near East,  World

President Trump on Monday called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to negotiate a ceasefire with Kurdish forces amid violence in the region precipitated by a U.S. withdrawal from northern Syria.

Vice President Pence told reporters outside the White House that Trump “pressed [Erdoğan] very strongly” in a phone call earlier in the day to broker a ceasefire immediately, The Hill reports.

Pence will lead a delegation to Turkey in the coming days to help broker a settlement between Ankara and Kurdish forces, he added.

“The president of the United States called on the president of Turkey to stop the invasion, to enact an immediate ceasefire and to begin negotiations with Kurdish forces in Syria,” said Pence, who was joined by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and national security adviser Robert O’Brien.

Trump received a “firm commitment” that the Turks would not attack the Syrian city of Kobani, Pence said, where there is a significant concentration of Kurds.