The United States understands Turkey's need for a border buffer zone in Syria even, but the end of the ceasefire period arranged by Washington and Ankara leaves the region facing an uncertain future, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told guests at the Heritage Foundation on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd October, 2019) The United States understands Turkey's need for a border buffer zone in Syria even, but the end of the ceasefire period arranged by Washington and Ankara leaves the region facing an uncertain future, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told guests at the Heritage Foundation on Tuesday."You'll see here in just a few hours the 120 hour window will arrive," Pompeo said. "It is a complicated story to be sure, but success of the outcome there is not yet fully determined."
Pompeo acknowledged that Turkey has "legitimate security concerns," referring to links between Syrian Kurdish fighters and Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), long considered a terrorist group by both Ankara and Washington.
"President Trump warned Turkey not to invade [Syria]," Pompeo said. "Sadly they conducted the incursion."
After ordering US forces to withdraw from northeast Syria, Trump pledged to use the United States' economic power and avoid a military clash between US forces and NATO ally Turkey by threatening to "destroy" Turkey's economy with sanctions, Pompeo said.
On October 9, Turkey launched a military offensive in northeast Syria with the stated goal to clear the border area of Kurdish fighters and establish a safe zone. Turkey considers the Kurdish forces in Syria to be an extension of the PKK.
The Syrian government said the offensive is an act of aggression and it violates Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
