WAR AND PEACE
Donald Trump brands ceasefire ‘great day for civilisation’ despite Erdogan truce is temporary
DONALD Trump branded a deal for a ceasefire in Syria a "great day for civilisation" despite Turkey saying it is only temporary.
His words came hours after Turkey agreed to the five-day truce to allow for the withdrawal of Kurdish forces from the region.
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Trump said: "A great day for the Kurds. It's really a great day for civilisation. It's a great day for civilisation."
He then praised US Vice President Mike Pence and his team for striking the deal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"They couldn't get it without a little rough love" before adding "This is an incredible outcome."
He then called Erdogan a "hell of a leader" even though Turkey made it clear it sees the move as nothing more than a "pause".
During a rally in Texas last night, Trump told his supporters that he pulled US troops out of Syria because the Turks and the Kurds comparing the two sides to "kids in a lot" who needed "to fight."
He said: "It was unconventional what I did. I said 'they're going to have to fight a little while.'
"Like two kids in a lot, you have got to let them fight and then you pull them apart.
"They fought for a few days and it was pretty vicious."
Earlier the US president of the peace deal on Twitter saying it would end the bloodshed.
"Great news out of Turkey...Millions of lives will be saved!" he wrote from aboard Air Force One.
Pence revealed shock news of the deal following lengthy talks with Erdogan.
A great day for the Kurds. It's really a great day for civilisation
Donald Trump
Pence said Turkey would halt all military operations for 120 hours to allow YPG troops - including the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - to leave the combat zone.
"Today the United States and Turkey have agreed to a ceasefire in Syria," he revealed after more than four hours of talks at the presidential palace in Ankara.
Pence had flown to Turkey to call for the halt to the military incursion by Turkey aimed at clearing fighters from a 20 mile deep "safe zone" along the border.
"The Turkish side will pause Operation Peace Spring in order to allow for the withdrawal of YPG forces from the safe zone for 120 hours," Pence said.
"All military operations under Operation Peace Spring will be paused, and Operation Peace Spring will be halted entirely on completion of the withdrawal," he said.
Pence added that preparations were already under way for the ceasefire to start.
SAFE ZONE
However, he remained silent on whether the agreement amounted to another abandonment of the US's former Kurdish allies in the fight against ISIS.
No comment was immediately forthcoming from the SDF - which already feels betrayed by the Americans and the US president.
However, before today talks the Kurds indicated they would object to any agreement along the lines of what was announced by Pence.
But the US vice president maintained that the US had obtained "repeated assurances from them that they'll be moving out."
But Turkish officials down played the agreement, saying they have agreed to suspend operations to let the Kurds withdraw.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara had gotten what it wanted but insisted it was not a ceasefire as Turkey's sees the SDF as a terror group.
"We will pause Operation Peace Spring for PKK/YPG to leave the safe zone," he told a news conference.
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"This is not a ceasefire - ceasefires can only happen between two legitimate sides
"When the terrorist elements completely leave the safe zone, we can stop the operation."
Pence had been on a mission to persuade the Turkish leader to halt an offensive against Kurdish fighters in northeast Syria.
However, Turkish officials had previously said the action would continue regardless, so the announcement came as a huge surprise.
Earlier it was revealed Erdogan had chucked a warning letter from his American counterpart in the bin.
Trump told Erdogan that he would "destroy" the Turkish economy if he stepped out of line in Syria, adding: "Don't be a fool!"
He added he wanted to "work out a good deal"; and that his counterpart in Ankara was at risk of being viewed in history as "the devil".
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Penned on October 9, the terse letter - leaked on Wednesday - was sent just as Trump announced the shock withdrawal of US troops.
But a Turkish government source told the BBC: "President Erdogan received the letter, thoroughly rejected it and put it in the bin."
Mr Trump wrote: "You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy - and I will."
He added: "I have worked hard to solve some of your problems. Don't let the world down. You can make a great deal."
The letter, first revealed by Fox News host, adds: "History will look upon you favourably if you get this done the right and humane way."
Last week's sudden removal of the American military presence in northern Syria was seen by US allies the Kurds - a sworn enemy of Turkey - as a stab in the back.
Turkey swiftly deployed troops over the Syrian border to seize Kurdish Syrian Democratic Front (SDF) positions in a series of bloody battles.
The assault created a new humanitarian crisis in Syria with 200,000 civilians taking flight and a security alert over thousands of ISIS fighters abandoned in Kurdish jails.
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On Wednesday, Trump hailed his decision to withdraw US troops in Syria, paving the way for the Turkish offensive, as “strategically brilliant”.
He also declared that the Kurdish fighters he had abandoned were “much safer now” and were “not angels”.
His remarks contradicted the official assessment of both the state and defence departments that the offensive was a disaster for regional stability and the fight against ISIS.
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Mike Pence and Erdogan reach deal to suspend Turkish invasion of Syria following peace talks