US slaps sanctions on Turkey over incursion, demands Syria ceasefire – World

The president of the United States, Donald Trump, imposed sanctions on Turkey and demanded that the NATO ally stop a military incursion into northeastern Syria that is rapidly transforming the battlefield of the world's deadliest ongoing war.

Trump, who gave what critics say was a de facto green light for Turkey's assault by ordering US forces away from the conflict area, requested a ceasefire in a call with President Tayyip Erdogan.

"The United States of America simply will not tolerate the invasion of Turkey in Syria anymore." We call on Turkey to withdraw, end the violence and come to the negotiating table, "United States Vice President Mike Pence told reporters on Monday.

Trump also announced plans to re-impose steel tariffs on Turkey and immediately stop negotiations on a $ 100 billion trade agreement.

The measure was quickly criticized as too small, too late by the main Democrat in Congress.

"His announcement of a package of sanctions against Turkey is far from reversing that humanitarian disaster," said the president of the House of Representatives of the United States, Nancy Pelosi.

Turkey aims to neutralize the Kurdish militia YPG, the main element of the ally led by the Washington Kurds, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which has been a key ally of the United States in the dismantling of the jihadist "caliphate" created by Islamic State militants in Syria.

Ankara considers the YPG as a terrorist group aligned with the Kurdish insurgents in Turkey.

On Monday, Russian-backed Syrian forces quickly took advantage of the abrupt US withdrawal in Syria to deploy deep within the territory held by US-backed Kurdish forces south of the Turkish border. Washington had announced plans for a total withdrawal from northern Syria less than 24 hours earlier.

Washington's former Kurdish allies said they invited government troops as an emergency step to help defend themselves against the Turkish assault, launched Wednesday after what the Kurds called a US betrayal.

The deployment of the Syrian army is a victory for President Bashar al-Assad and his most powerful ally, Russia, which gives them a foothold in the largest remaining strip of the country that had been out of reach.

They will now face the Turkish armed forces along a new front line hundreds of miles (km) long.

Syrian state media reported that the army entered Manbij, a city that had been controlled by a Kurdish allied militia. Previously, he entered Tel Tamer, a city on the strategically important M4 motorway that runs east to west about 30 km (19 miles) south of the Turkish border.

Subsequently, state television showed residents welcoming Syrian forces to the city of Ain Issa, which is located on another part of the road, hundreds of kilometers away.

Ain Issa orders the approaches of northern Raqqa, former capital of the & # 39; caliphate & # 39; of the Islamic State, which Kurdish fighters recaptured from the militants two years ago in one of the biggest victories of a US-led campaign.

Much of the M4 borders the southern fringe of the territory where Turkey intends to establish a "safe zone" within Syria. Turkey said it had taken part of the road. An official from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) led by the Kurds said the fighting was ongoing.

United States strategy unraveling

The rapid deployment of the Syrian government underlined how suddenly the strategy that the United States had followed in Syria over the past five years had collapsed. Washington said on Sunday it was withdrawing its entire force from 1,000 soldiers, who had provided air support, ground assistance and training to Syrian Kurds against the Islamic State since 2014.

Trump said US troops would remain in a small garrison in Tanf, in southern Syria, "to continue destroying the remains" of the Islamic State. But the base would do little to support operations in other parts of the country.

The leader of the Republican majority in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, best known for his support for Trump, joined his critics to express his concern over Syria's withdrawal, saying he would "invite the resurgence" of the Islamic State.

"Such a withdrawal would also create a broader power vacuum in Syria that will be exploited by Iran and Russia, a catastrophic outcome for the strategic interests of the United States," he said in a statement.

An American official said Monday that a diplomatic team that worked to help stabilize the captured territory of the Islamic State had already retired. US troops were still on the ground, but the first phases of their withdrawal had begun, the official said.

Two other US officials have said Reuters Most of the withdrawal from the US UU. It could be completed in a matter of days.

The Trump administration has denied that his withdrawal of troops caused the Turkish incursion.

"I can tell you with complete confidence that nothing we did in one way or another was going to dissuade the Turks from what they wanted to do," said a senior Trump administration official.

US partners

Thousands of fighters of a Kurd-led force have died since 2014 fighting the Islamic State in association with the United States, a strategy that the Trump administration had followed after inheriting it from its predecessor, Barack Obama.

"After the Americans left the region and gave the green light to the Turkish attack, we were forced to explore another option, which is to talk to Damascus and Moscow to find a way out and thwart these Turkish attacks," said senior Kurdish official Badran Jia Kurd said. Jia Kurd described the new agreement with Assad's forces as a "preliminary military agreement," and said the political aspects will be discussed later.

It remains to be seen how the Kurds will be treated now. Kurdish fighters began to forge autonomous domination in northeastern Syria at the beginning of their eight-year war, benefiting from deviations from the Assad military to fight elsewhere. Assad aims to restore the authority of his government throughout the country.

Kurdish politician Aldar Xelil called the pact with Damascus "an emergency measure." "The priority now is to protect the security of the border from Turkish danger."

Trump says his goal is to extract the United States from "endless" wars in the Middle East.

"Anyone who wants to help Syria protect the Kurds is good to me, be it Russia, China or Napoleon Bonaparte," Trump wrote on Twitter on Monday. "I hope everyone does well, we are 7,000 miles away!"

New front line

In a speech during a visit to Azerbaijan, Erdogan said: "We are determined to continue the operation until the end, without paying attention to the threats."

"Our battle will continue until the final victory is achieved," he added.

The Turkish Defense Ministry said 560 militants had been "neutralized" since the operation began. Earlier, Erdogan said 500 militants had been killed, 26 surrendered and 24 were injured so far.

The departure of the United States leaves Turkey and Russia, as well as Iran, Assad's main ally for the Middle East, as the undisputed foreign power brokers in Syria. Ankara and Moscow predicted that they would avoid the conflict in Syria, even when the first line between them will now spread throughout the country.

“There are many rumors at this time. However, especially through the embassy and with Russia's positive approach in Kobani, it seems that there will be no problem, "Erdogan said when asked about the possibility of a confrontation with Russia.

Kobani, on the Turkish border, is one of the first cities controlled by the Kurds where reports emerged on a possible deployment of the Syrian government.

Trump also spoke with the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces led by the Kurds, General Mazloum Kobani Abdi. Mazloum expressed concern about the Syrian city of Kobani and asked Trump to raise that issue directly with Erdogan, Pence said.

Trump posed the problem to Erdogan, who firmly promised not to attack Kobani, Pence said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the suggestion that Russia could face the Turkish forces. "We wouldn't even like to think about that scenario," he said.

The fight has raised concerns that Kurds cannot keep thousands of Islamic State fighters in jail and tens of thousands of their relatives in the camps.

The Kurdish-led administration in the region said 785 foreigners affiliated with the Islamic State escaped from a camp in Ain Issa over the weekend. The British-based war observer, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, citing sources in the field, said the number he escaped was less, about 100.

EU countries have threatened to impose sanctions on Turkey for the assault. But at a meeting on Monday, they agreed not to impose an embargo. Instead, member countries would consider their own restrictions on arms sales, a measure that is likely to be dismissed as trivial, since weapons represent only 45 million euros of the more than 150 billion euros in trade between Turkey and the European Union.

US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said he would ask NATO allies to "take collective and individual measures" against Turkey when he meets with the chiefs of defense in Brussels next week.

Republican leaders and Democrats of the United States Congress have announced plans to impose their own sanctions. Turkey's trade with the United States is a fraction of its trade with Europe.