WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday in "a major breakthrough" he is lifting all sanctions against Turkey.
The sanctions were imposed last week.
Turkey will stop combat and the ceasefire will be permanent, the President said.
"We have saved the lives of many, many Kurds," Trump said. "We've done something that is very, very special."
Trump said Turkey and Syria must keep the peace.
"It's their neighborhood. They need to take care of it," Trump said. "Let someone else fight over this long bloodstained sand."
The president said a small number of troops would remain in Syria to protect oil interests.
Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted there was "Big success on the Turkey/Syria border."
"Safe Zone created! Ceasefire has held and combat missions have ended," Trump tweeted.
Big success on the Turkey/Syria Border. Safe Zone created! Ceasefire has held and combat missions have ended. Kurds are safe and have worked very nicely with us. Captured ISIS prisoners secured. I will be making a statement at 11:00 A.M. from the White House. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2019
Turkey and Russia reached an agreement Tuesday, installing their forces along the border of northeast Syria after U.S. troops that were withdrawn from the area, The Associated Press reported.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Sochi, Russia, and revealed a 10-point memorandum about Syria, CNN reported. According to the memorandum, Turkish military and Russian military police will patrol the border. The United States was not included in the negotiations.
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