Turkey-US cease-fire in northern Syria widely condemned as fighting continues
On Thursday, Turkey agreed to a cease-fire in northern Syria on terms decided between itself and the United States.
The cease-fire came nine days into Turkey’s military offensive against the Syrian Kurds, who Turkey considers a terror threat based on their ethnic ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party.
Over 300,000 are estimated to have fled their homes in the region under attack, and according to the UN 71 deaths have been confirmed thus far.
The United States is caught in the middle, as Turkey is a NATO ally while the Kurds have been key allies in the fight against ISIS within the region.
The terms of the temporary cease-fire include the Kurds withdrawing roughly twenty miles from the border with Turkey, but does not require Turkey to withdraw troops, effectively ceding the territory long occupied by the Kurds.
Furthermore, the territory is within Syria’s borders, and Turkey has no meaningful claim to actually hold the land. Neither the Syrian Kurds nor the government of Bashir al-Assad were party to the negotiation, leading to condemnation of the agreement as essentially the US declaring a surrender on the other parties’ behalf.
In return for the cease-fire and Kurdish withdrawal, the Trump administration intends to lift the sanctions recently placed on Turkey. However, Turkey has made it clear that the cease-fire is only temporary at best and that it intends to displace the Kurds permanently, with the Turkish foreign minister stating that “This is not a cease-fire. A cease-fire is done between two legitimate parties.”
Fighting continued throughout Friday despite the ceasefire being proclaimed, including Turkish artillery fire on border towns. The political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces released a statement saying that Turkey and its proxies were ignoring the ceasefire entirely.
Trump dismissed the violations in a tweet, claiming to have received assurances from Turkish President Erdogan. “He very much wants the ceasefire, or pause, to work. Likewise, the Kurds want it, and the ultimate solution, to happen.”
Meanwhile, within the US, lawmakers from both parties have pressed to re-impose and widen sanctions against Turkey despite the Trump administration’s view.
Both Democrats and Republicans have criticized the deal with Turkey as effectively giving Erdogan everything he wanted in terms of legitimacy for the invasion, while extracting nothing from Turkey in return.
Sanctions bills targeting Syria have been released by Senator Lindsey Graham and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, both from President Trump’s own party.
Among US allies, the response to the ceasefire was likewise grim. A joint statement was released including foreign affairs chairs from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the European Union, and the US House of Representatives; all condemned the Turkish invasion and declared it a violation of international law.
Within Syria, the Kurds have turned to the government of Bashir al-Assad, who they previously fought against, for support against the Turkish forces. Assad’s ties to Russia may have also played a part, and Russia has been seeking direct negotiations with the Kurds to bring them under its wing and replace the relationship they recently had with the United States.
