Visits: 4
The secretary of state defended the ceasefire that he and Vice President Mike Pence brokered with Turkey and responded to criticism from both Kurdish fighters and Republicans on the Hill, on ABC’s “This Week.”
“We put out a joint statement which we think will really save lives. It’s worked so far,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday, adding that he had just received a report from his senior advisers that indicated that there is relatively little fighting still in Syria.
The U.S. and Turkey reached an agreement on Thursday to “pause” Turkey’s military operations in northern Syria for five days to allow Kurdish forces to withdraw from a buffer zone. If the withdrawal is complete after that time, Turkey will halt its operation and the U.S. will lift sanctions on Turkish officials.
U.S. officials were calling the agreement a ceasefire while Turkish officials have referred to it as a pause. Despite the deal taking effect on Thursday, eyewitness reports indicated that shelling continued through Thursday night and into Friday morning.
Pompeo, who joined Vice President Mike Pence as he announced the agreement, defended the agreement to Politico on Friday despite the clashes.
“Our sense is, the political commitments that were made yesterday will end up being successful,” he said in that interview.
This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
