President Trump is lifting
sanctions on
Turkey after he says its government told him its ceasefire in
Syria will be made "permanent."Trump announced from the
White House Wednesday that he was informed by Turkey's government that it's making its temporary ceasefire in Syria "permanent," although the president hedged this statement by saying "you would also define the word 'permanent' in that part of the world as somewhat questionable. We all understand that. But I do believe it will be permanent." Vice President
Mike Pence announced last week a temporary ceasefire in Syria following a meeting with
Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with this coming after Trump's decision to pull back troops, allowing for a Turkish military incursion into Kurdish-held zones.
Kurds worked with the U.S. to fight the
Islamic State, and Trump's move drew criticism and a bipartisan rebuke from the House of Representatives. The U.S. imposed sanctions on Turkey on Oct. 14 in response, but Trump now says the sanctions will be lifted "unless something happens that we're not happy with." This announcement came after Turkey halted its Syria offensive following an agreement with
Russia, The
New York Times reports. Trump also continued to defend his controversial pullback Wednesday, saying that while a "small number" of troops will remain in Syria, he plans to "let someone else fight over this long bloodstained sand."