The situation in northern Syria is increasingly out of control - and even his own party sees part of the responsibility of Donald Trump. Finally, its sudden recall of US units in the region was seen as triggering the rapid escalation. Now, the White House is quite obviously striving for mitigation.
Following the Turkish invasion of Syria, Trump demands that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan immediately stop the military operation. Trump has spoken with Erdogan and asked for a ceasefire, said US Vice President Mike Pence on Monday.
"The United States of America simply will not tolerate the invasion of Turkey in Syria and we call on Turkey to withdraw, stop the violence and come to the negotiating table," Pence continues. The vice-president now wants to travel to Turkey as soon as possible to mediate.
In addition, the Trump government is trying to put pressure on the government in Ankara with punitive tariffs and sanctions. Finance Minister Steven Mnuchin said that economic measures were being taken against the Turkish Defense, Interior and Energy Ministers and their ministries in response to the country's military operation.
Previously, Trump had announced that talks with Turkey on a $ 100 billion trade deal would be halted and tariffs on Turkish steel raised to 50 percent. Nevertheless, Trump must continue to be fierce criticism from their own ranks.
Statement from President Donald J. Trump Regarding Turkey's Actions in Northeast Syria pic.twitter.com/ZCQC7nzmME
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2019Measures against ministers and ministries
The Supreme Republican in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, the economic sanctions are not sufficient. "We appreciate the planned sanctions of the government, but they are not going far enough to punish Turkey for its monstrous offenses in Syria," said US MEP Mike McCaul's office.
In addition, the US Treasury put on Monday the Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu and Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez on a blacklist. This will freeze potential US assets of the ministers and prohibit financial transactions with them. Sanctions were also imposed on the Ministry of Defense and the Department of Energy as a whole.
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Turkey launched a cross-border military operation to northern Syria on Wednesday, just days after Erdogan told Trump he wanted to push ahead with a long-planned move against America's Kurdish allies in the region. Trump then announced abruptly a transfer of American troops from the conflict area to pull them out of harm's way.
Minister Esper wants to involve NATO
He rejected criticism that this would expose the Kurds in Syria to further persecution and military force. The facts speak for themselves locally. The withdrawal of US forces was interpreted as a green light for the invasion of Turkey in Syria. The White House also denies this. The Kurdish units feel betrayed by the US and recently announced a desperate deal with the regime of the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Video: Chaos in Syria allows escape from IS terrorists
ERDEM SAHIN / EPA-EFE / REX
Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper called on NATO to take action against Turkey. The "unacceptable invasion" of Turkey has "undermined" the international mission in the fight against the jihadist militia "Islamic State" and led to the release of "many" prisoners of jihadists, said the Pentagon chief. Next week he will travel to NATO headquarters in Brussels and ask his allies for "joint and individual diplomatic and economic measures".
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