Riyaz Patel
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US Vice President Mike Pence have reached agreement to suspend Ankara’s operation in northern Syria over the next five days to allow Kurdish forces to withdraw from the so-called ‘safe zone,’ a designated area along the Turkish-Syrian border.
Following a marathon meeting between Turkish and American officials Thursday, the two sides hammered out a deal amid growing international opposition to the Turkish incursion into Syria.
“Today the United States and Turkey have agreed to a ceasefire in Syria,” Pence said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said: “We got what we wanted. This is not a ceasefire. We only halt our operations.”
The demarcation line of the so-called “safe zone” is to run roughly 20 miles south of the Turkish border, Pence said.
The safe zone is to be primarily enforced by the Turkish military, and the two sides will increase their cooperation to implement the deal.
The agreement stipulates that Kurdish militants, including the People’s Protection Units (YPG), would have their heavy weapons collected and their fortifications and fighting positions disabled.
Once the military operation is suspended, US President Donald Trump will lift the sanctions that he imposed on Turkey earlier this week.
The agreement also stipulates that the White House will work with Congress – which has been engaged in efforts to impose sanctions on Turkey – to highlight the progress of the deal.
Top Democrats in Congress, however, called the agreement a “sham,” saying that it gave Turkey everything while taking no concessions from Ankara.
The Turkish operation, dubbed Peace Spring, will be completely suspended once the YPG completes its withdrawal, Pence said.
He added that Ankara would commit to a “permanent ceasefire” when the agreement is fully implemented.
The US-backed, Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) played a major role in defeating the Islamic State (IS) group.
Ankara, however, views the YPG, which is a major faction in the SDF, as a threat to its national security.
Trump pulled US troops from northern Syria last week, effectively giving Turkey the green light to carry its military offensive against Syrian Kurds.
Trump’s decision proved to be wildly unpopular at home, with politicians from both major parties rebuking him, prompting him earlier this week to call on Turkey to end the incursion and to impose economic sanctions on Ankara.
It remains unclear, though, as to who exactly will implement the deal in the absence of US troops, or whether the Syrian government, whose forces have been deployed to many border towns, will accept the agreement.
Additional reporting Mid East Monitor.
