This archive report was first published on 16 October 2019.
On October 16, 2019, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey urged Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria to withdraw from the border area and lay down their arms 'this very night.'
Speaking to the Turkish Parliament, Erdogan emphasized that Turkey would not stop fighting until it had established a planned 'safe zone' in Syria, roughly 20 miles deep, from the town of Manbij in the west to the Iraqi border in the east.
Despite Western pressure to halt the operation, Erdogan requested international support for Turkey's battle against Kurdish fighters, whom Turkey considers terrorists but who had been allied with the United States against the Islamic State.
As the conflict escalated, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo planned to travel to Turkey to meet with Turkish officials and press for a cease-fire.
However, Erdogan's communications director, Fahrettin Altun, clarified that Erdogan would not meet with the US delegation on the same day, but would meet with them the following day.
US officials, including Pompeo, expressed their desire for a cease-fire and a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Syria.
