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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Turkey to suspend Syria offensive, Mike Pence announces | Turkey to suspend Syria offensive, Mike Pence announces |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Turkey has agreed to a ceasefire in northern Syria to let Kurdish-led forces withdraw, US Vice-President Mike Pence has announced. | Turkey has agreed to a ceasefire in northern Syria to let Kurdish-led forces withdraw, US Vice-President Mike Pence has announced. |
| The announcement followed talks in Ankara between Mr Pence and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. | |
| All military operations will be paused for five days, and the US will help facilitate an "orderly withdrawal" of Kurdish-led troops from what Turkey has termed a "safe zone" on the border. | All military operations will be paused for five days, and the US will help facilitate an "orderly withdrawal" of Kurdish-led troops from what Turkey has termed a "safe zone" on the border. |
| Turkey launched its assault last week. | Turkey launched its assault last week. |
| It aimed to repel a Kurdish militia that Ankara views as a terrorist group, and resettle up to two million Syrian refugees in the area. | |
| Critics raised fears the move could trigger ethnic cleansing of the local Kurdish population. | |
| The cross-border offensive came after US President Donald Trump pulled US forces out of the border region. | The cross-border offensive came after US President Donald Trump pulled US forces out of the border region. |
| His decision prompted a raft of criticism at home and abroad, with some accusing him of giving Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a "green light" for the operation. | His decision prompted a raft of criticism at home and abroad, with some accusing him of giving Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a "green light" for the operation. |
| Mr Trump tweeted about the ceasefire before Mr Pence announced it, writing that "millions of lives will be saved!" | Mr Trump tweeted about the ceasefire before Mr Pence announced it, writing that "millions of lives will be saved!" |
| Mr Pence thanked Donald Trump's "strong leadership" during the announcement. | Mr Pence thanked Donald Trump's "strong leadership" during the announcement. |
| "He wanted a ceasefire. He wanted to stop the violence," the vice-president said. | "He wanted a ceasefire. He wanted to stop the violence," the vice-president said. |
| Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told journalists the offensive would only be permanently halted when the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had left the border zone. | |
| "We are suspending the operation, not halting it," he said. "We will halt the operation only after (Kurdish militants) completely withdraw from the region." | |
| Mr Pence said the US would lift economic sanctions imposed on Turkey when the military offensive ended, and would not impose more in the meantime. | |
| The SDF was not represented at the talks between Washington and Ankara, and has not yet commented on the developments. |