The United States and Turkey have reached an agreement to halt the Turkish invasion in the border area with Syria. A five-day ceasefire has been agreed upon. Turkey's offensive will only fully stop once the Kurdish YPG fighters have withdrawn. The Americans say they are already making preparations for the safe exit of the Kurdish militia.
Turkey does not refer to this as a ceasefire but rather a temporary pause in the operation, emphasizing that Ankara obtained permission from the US to manage a “safe zone” in the border region. Pence states that such a zone is in the long-term interest of both parties. It remains unclear what Syria and Russia think about this.
Turkey aimed through the invasion to secure a strip approximately 225 kilometers long and 32 kilometers wide along the Turkish-Syrian border. They also want to relocate the several million Syrian refugees currently hosted in Turkey to this area.
Furthermore, the United States and Turkey have agreed that the YPG must surrender all heavy weapons and dismantle all their posts. It is unclear whether the agreements also apply to other Kurdish groups.
The United States will not impose any further sanctions on Turkey due to the deal. The economic sanctions previously implemented will be lifted once the agreements are fulfilled.
The Turkish offensive in northeastern Syria began last Wednesday, shortly after Trump decided to withdraw American troops from that area. According to Pompeo, the United States did not give the green light for the invasion.
Since Wednesday, nearly five hundred people have lost their lives, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Thursday. This includes 224 SDF fighters, 184 rebels supported by Turkey, and 72 civilians. Due to the violence, about 200,000 residents from the region have fled.