Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described it as a pause, solely to allow the Kurdish fighters to withdraw. Mr. Pence added that he had spoken to Mr. Trump after the talks and that Trump had expressed his gratitude for the ceasefire accord. Washington's main goal had been to halt the violence, and it had succeeded, Mr. Pence said. Mr. Trump had defended his move on Wednesday as "strategically brilliant". He said he thought Mr. Pence and Mr. Erdogan would have a successful meeting, but warned of sanctions and tariffs that "will be devastating to Turkey's economy" otherwise.

Source: The Hindu October 17, 2019 17:59 UTC