President Erdogan today rejected Donald Trump’s call to stop Turkey’s military offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syria as he shrugged off growing criticism from Washington and other fellow Nato members.
The defiant Turkish leader told reporters: “We could never declare a ceasefire. They are pressuring us to stop the operation. They are announcing sanctions. Our goal is clear. We are not worried about any sanctions.”
His comments came as US vice president Mike Pence and secretary of state Mike Pompeo headed to Ankara in the hope of getting Turkey to agree a truce in its operation in north-eastern Syria, now in its eighth day.
But Mr Erdogan has now said he will not meet Mr Pence to discuss the ceasefire, saying he will only speak to Mr Trump.
After announcing the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria following a phone conversation with President Erdogan, Mr Trump has been accused of “abandoning” Kurdish forces - who led the fight alongside the US against Islamic State - and of effectively giving Turkey the green light to attack fighters Ankara regards as “terrorists”.
Meanwhile, France today called on other members of the coalition who fought IS in Syria to regroup as America withdraws from the battleground.
Foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a TV interview today that France was now looking to Russia, given their “common interests” in defeating IS.
He claimed the American military withdrawal from north-eastern Syria was forcing European leaders to re-examine their alliance with the US in the region.
Mr Le Drian said France’s “own security is at stake” amid the Turkish offensive against Syrian-Kurdish fighters, as the invasion could allow thousands of IS fighters who had been detained in Kurdish-run prisons to escape.
Russia has moved to fill the void left by the US in the conflict, deploying its forces towards Syria’s border with Turkey.
Russian units were patrolling the front line between Syrian and Turkish forces, according to a statement by Russia’s defence ministry.
Yesterday Russia’s presidential envoy on Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, told state news agency Tass that Moscow “won’t allow” clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces on the ground
The Kremlin today said president Vladimir Putin had discussed the situation with Mr Erdogan in a phone call and invited him to Russia for a working visit “in the coming days”.
Dozens of civilians have been killed in the operation so far and at least 160,000 have fled the area, according to the UN.
Yesterday the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières said it had “taken the difficult decision to suspend the majority of its activities and evacuate all its international staff from north-east Syria”.
