UN Secretary-General welcomes the cessation of Turkey's attack in northern Syria

ARK News: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes "any efforts" to halt the escalation of the situation in northern Syria and protect civilians after Turkey agreed to halt its offensive in the region, a UN spokesman said in a statement on Thursday.

Spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement that "the Secretary-General recognizes that there is still a long way to reach an effective solution to the crisis in Syria," according to "Reuters."

Turkey agreed on Thursday to halt its offensive in Syria for five days to allow Kurdish forces to withdraw from a "safe zone" Ankara seeks to establish, in an agreement hailed by Washington as a victory for Turkish leaders.

US Vice President Mike Pence announced that an agreement had been reached with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a ceasefire in northern Syria.

US Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey had agreed to a five-day ceasefire in northeastern Syria to allow the withdrawal of Kurdish forces.

"The United States and Turkey today agreed to a ceasefire in Syria," Pence told a news conference after more than four hours of talks at Ankara's presidential palace.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday that Ankara had agreed with the United States to collect heavy weapons from the People's Protection Units (YPG) and destroy their positions.

"This cannot be described as a ceasefire," Gavishoglu said in a statement carried by Reuters. "The truce is only between two legitimate sides."

The operation, Turkey's third in Syria, was launched after months of unsuccessful negotiations between Turkey and the United States on the establishment of a "safe zone" in northeast Syria to resolve tensions between the Turkish side and the Kurds peacefully, but these efforts did not result in achieving this goal due to differences between the parties on the operation of this mechanism.

Turkey began its new operation after the United States announced the withdrawal of its troops from northeastern Syria by a decision of US President Donald Trump, in a move strongly criticized by the Kurds despite his promise to destroy Turkey's economy if it "crossed the border."

Source: MbS

420