Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is holding last-minute talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as the clock is winding down on a cease-fire deal between Turkish and Kurdish forces.
The two are meeting in Sochi to talk about “normalizing the situation” in war-torn Syria, Al Jazeera reported, citing the Kremlin.
Erdogan warned earlier Tuesday that his country’s military will resume its offensive if all Syrian Kurds don't leave a border region before a cease-fire deadline runs out at 10:00 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET).
He said 800 of the fighters have already left, but up to 1,300 remain. Turkey launched the operation into northern Syria on Oct. 9, declaring that it aimed to push out Syrian Kurdish fighters it considers terrorists and an extension of a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands during their meeting Tuesday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia. (AP)
IRAQ'S MILITARY SAYS US TROOPS LEAVING SYRIA DON'T HAVE PERMISSION TO STAY IN THE COUNTRY
The U.S. then brokered a deal last week for a 120-hour pause in fighting that expires Tuesday night, to allow Syrian Kurdish fighters to leave areas Turkey controls
Turkey seeks to establish what it calls a "safe zone" extending more than 250 miles along the Turkish-Syrian border and about 19 miles inside Syria, where it plans to resettle about 2 million of the roughly 3.6 million Syrian refugees currently living in Turkey.
"If America does not keep to its promises, our offensive will continue from where it left off, with a much greater determination," Erdogan said Tuesday. "There is no place for the (Kurdish fighters) in Syria's future. We hope that with Russia's cooperation, we will rid the region of separatist terror."
AMERICAN TROOPS LEAVING SYRIAN CITY CONTROLLED BY KURDS PELTED WITH POTATOES, TOMATOES
In this photo released on the official Facebook page of the Syrian Presidency, Syrian President Bashar Assad, center right, speaks with Syrian troops during his visit to the town of Habeet, in the northwestern province of Idlib, Syria, on Tuesday. (AP/Facebook page of the Syrian Presidency)
Although Turkish officials say the cease-fire agreement specifically covers a roughly 75-mile stretch between the Syrian border towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, Erdogan has made clear he wants Turkish military presence along the full stretch of the border from the Euphrates River to Syria's border with Iraq.
Turkey's military said Tuesday at least 136 vehicles, carrying fighters, had left the region. It said it had recorded a total of 41 violations since the cease-fire came into effect. Kurdish officials have also accused Turkey of cease-fire violations.
Turkey's incursion into Syria has led to an international outcry, which has, in turn, enraged Erdogan, who has accused his NATO allies of not standing by Turkey.
KURDISH MILITARY LEADER SAYS HIS FIGHTERS STILL WANT TO WORK WITH AMERICA
European Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday condemned the incursion and called on Erdogan to pull his troops out of the region.
In this photo taken from the Turkish side of the border between Turkey and Syria, in Ceylanpinar, Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey, smoke billows from a fire on a target in Ras al-Ayn, Syria, caused by shelling by Turkish forces, on Thursday last week. (AP)
Tusk, speaking to EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, said "no one is fooled by the so-called cease-fire" agreement, and that Turkey, which is a candidate for EU membership, "needs to end its military action permanently, withdraw its forces and respect international humanitarian law."
He added that "any other course means unacceptable suffering, a victory for Daesh (the Islamic State group), and a serious threat to European security."
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Embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad also visited territory captured from Turkey-backed Syrian fighters in the northwestern province of Idlib on Tuesday, where he described Erdogan as a "thief."
State media showed images of Assad standing among Syrian soldiers in what the report said was strategic southern Idlib territory. The media quoted Assad as calling Erdogan a "thief who robbed factories, wheat, and fuel and is today stealing territory" — apparently referring to Turkey's invasion this month into northeastern Syria.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/turkey-syria-kurdish-cease-fire-expire
2019-10-22 12:16:39Z
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