WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Friday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had assured him that he wants the "ceasefire" with Kurdish militants in northern Syria to work.
Trump, in a series of tweets, said he had spoken to Erdogan and "he very much wants the ceasefire, or pause, to work. "Likewise, the Kurds want it, and the ultimate solution, to happen," the US president said. "There is good will on both sides & a really good chance for success," he added.
"The US has secured the Oil, & the ISIS Fighters are double secured by Kurds & Turkey. " Trump also said that "some" European countries, which he did not name, "are now willing, for the first time, to take the (Islamic State group) Fighters that came from their nations."
"Anyway, big progress being made!!!!" Trump also tweeted "DEFEAT TERRORISM!" in all capital letters in response to a tweet by Erdogan saying "Mr. President, many more lives will be saved when we defeat terrorism, which is humanity's arch enemy.
Earlier on Friday, Erdogan warned that Ankara would resume military operations against Kurdish forces in Syria if they did not withdraw from a "safe zone" along the Turkey-Syria border. Turkey has agreed to suspend its offensive for five days in northern Syria while Kurdish fighters withdraw from the area, after high-stake talks with US Vice President Mike Pence in Ankara.