US Secretary of State, VP arrive in Ankara amid Turkish offensive in Syria
Ankara [Turkey], Oct 17 (ANI): Amid Turkey's military operation in Northern Syria, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Michael Pence arrived here on Thursday.
ANI
Oct 17, 2019 18:20 IST
Ankara [Turkey], Oct 17 (ANI): Amid Turkey's military operation in Northern Syria, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Michael Pence arrived here on Thursday.
A day after US President Donald Trump suggested that Washington has no stake in defending Kurds, Pence and Pompeo are in Ankara to urge Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to stop his military incursion in northern Syria, Washington Post reported.
On Wednesday, ahead of US officials' visit to Turkey, Trump warned Ankara with economic sanctions saying, "If they (Turkey) don't stop, the sanctions and tariffs and other things that we're doing -- we will do -- will be devastating to Turkey's economy."
In a letter dated October 9, Trump wrote to his Turkish counterpart threatening him against Syria offensive and asking him 'not to be a fool'.
The international community has already voiced concerns that the Turkish incursion could worsen the humanitarian situation in the region and hamper the efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis.
Turkey launched its military operation last week after the United States, an ally of Kurdish militia People's Protection Units (YPG), in the war against Islamic State militants, announced the withdrawal of its troops from northern Syria. (ANI)
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