Change of tone for Donald Trump. The US president suddenly changed his mind against Turkey on Monday (October 14th), calling on him to end his military operation in Syria and announcing a series of sanctions as Syrian troops deployed in the north of the country. country.

Targets of a deadly Turkish offensive and abandoned by their American allies, the Kurdish forces turned to the troops of Damascus, who approached Monday the border.

"The United States wants Turkey to end the invasion, implement an immediate ceasefire and start negotiating with Kurdish forces in Syria," US Vice President Mike Pence said. that he would go to Turkey soon at the request of Donald Trump.

Today, President Trump signed an executive order implementing a new range of sanctions against Turkey. To be very clear, President Trump called on the President of Turkey to stop the invasion, to enact an immediate cease fire and to begin negotiations with Kurdish forces in Syria. pic.twitter.com/xh9hCvM51N

Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) October 14, 2019

Launched on 9 October, the Turkish operation has opened a new front in the conflict in Syria, involving regional and international actors, which has since 2011 more than 370 000 deaths and pushed to the flight of millions of people.

During a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Donald Trump was "very firm", said Mike Pence, who assured that the Turkish leader had pledged that there would be "no attack" against the city of Kobane.

Energy, Defense and Interior Ministers targeted by sanctions

Pentagon chief Mark Esper said the Turkish military offensive had resulted in the release of many "dangerous" detainees from the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group. "This unacceptable incursion has undermined the successful international anti-IS mission in Syria," he said.

After a week of contradictory announcements, a US official said all US troops, some 1,000, deployed in northern Syria in recent years to support Kurdish forces in their fight against ISIS, had received order to leave the country.

>> Read: Kurds are allied with Damascus, which has to deploy its army on the Turkish border

The American sanctions signed Monday by the US president target the Turkish ministers of Energy, Defense and Interior. Their potential assets in the United States are frozen and their international transactions in dollars are blocked.

Democrats, who have criticized the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria, have not been convinced by the latest announcements. "President Trump has unleashed a rise of chaos and insecurity in Syria, and his announcement of a package of sanctions against Turkey is not enough to reverse this humanitarian disaster," the statement said in a statement. the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.

With AFP