the United States lifts sanctions against Turkey

The interruption of Turkey's military offensive against Kurdish forces in northern Syria has resulted in the lifting of US sanctions, which has been in effect since mid-October.

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Donald Trump announces the lifting of sanctions at the White House, Wednesday, October 23. SAUL LOEB / AFP

"I asked the Treasury Secretary to lift all the sanctions imposed on October 14 in response to Turkey's offensive"said Donald Trump from the White House on Wednesday, October 23. Turkey said Tuesday night that it will not resume its military offensive against Kurdish forces in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the latter from the border areas.

The Russian and Turkish presidents, central actors in the Syrian conflict, agreed on a joint takeover of most of the border area. The president of the United States has also hinted that his meeting on November 13 at the White House with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan would take place as planned.

"Countless lives have been saved thanks to our negotiation with Turkey"he said, presenting his strategy on this issue as a success. "Now, people say, wow, what a fantastic result! ", he added, without specifying precisely who he was referring to.

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Maintaining a "small number of US soldiers"

The Turkish offensive was launched following the announcement of the military withdrawal of the United States from North-East Syria, denounced by many elected – Democrats as Republicans – as an abandonment of the Kurds, allied with Washington in the fight against the jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) organization.

Trump said Wednesday that Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), dominated by the Kurds, thanked him. "I have just spoken to General Mazloum, a formidable man. (…) He was extremely grateful », he said. The President of the United States has also stated that a "Small number of soldiers" Americans would stay in Syria, "In areas where there is oil". "Countries in the region must take responsibility and help Turkey and Syria secure their borders", he added.

Mazloum Abdi also thanked Russia. In a telephone conversation with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the head of the SDS has "Expresses its thanks to President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation for their eagerness to defuse the war in our region and spare civilians this scourge"according to a statement from the SDS. "The commander-in-chief also expressed reservations about some aspects of the agreement, which require further discussion and dialogue. "

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