House speaker Nancy Pelosi has visited Jordan along with a delegation of American politicians to discuss the "deepening crisis" in neighbouring Syria.
As both Turkey and Kurdish forces claimed that the other had breached a US brokered ceasefire, Ms Pelosi said in a statement that her visit came at “a critical time for the security and stability of the region."
She added: "With the deepening crisis in Syria after Turkey’s incursion, our delegation has engaged in vital discussions about the impact to regional stability, increased flow of refugees, and the dangerous opening that has been provided to ISIS, Iran and Russia.”
She was joined by several senior congressional leaders, who met with crown prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, prince Feisal bin Al Hussein, foreign minister Ayman Safadi and other senior Jordanian officials
“We expressed our continued appreciation for the strategic partnership between the US and Jordan and engaged in a constructive dialogue on regional stability, counter-terrorism, security cooperation, Middle East peace, economic development and other shared challenges," Ms Pelosi said.
Her visit came after she declared the cease fire in northeastern Turkey a “sham”, along with Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.
That ceasefire was announced by US vice president Mike Pence, who had travelled to the region amid bipartisan criticism in Washington that Donald Trump’s decision to pull troops from the area jeopardised US-backed Kurdish fighters.
The agreement was quickly called into question, however, with Turkish officials indicating that the ceasefire was not legitimate.
The terms detailed by Mr Pence indicated that fighting would be stopped for about five days, to give time to Kurdish people to leave the region.
But activists in northeast Syria claimed that there was some sporadic fighting, indicating that the cease fire was not being honoured.
Reuters contributed to this report
