US Vice President Mike Pence and Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo have spoken of the agreement as a major step forward. If all parts of the agreement are fulfilled, Turkey has in a short time succeeded in its goal of creating distance between the Turkish border and the Kurdish YPG.

120 hours to leave the "safety zone"

The agreement says that a cease-fire prevails while the Kurdish forces leave the desired "security zone". When the Kurds have done this, Turkey will be permanently ceased. The Kurds have 120 hours to leave the region. However, Turkey has not undertaken to withdraw troops when the Kurds moved on. That's what the AP writes.

In addition to the withdrawal of Kurdish forces, the only requirement that Turkey has set is to lift the sanctions against the country. If this is incorporated, then Turkey will completely avoid reprisals from the United States for its offensive into northeastern Syria.

The Kurds were not at the table

The Kurds were not involved in negotiating the agreement, and it was not clear from the outset whether they would undertake to withdraw. Before the talks between Pence and Erdogan, the Kurds signaled that they would not agree to anything near the agreement that now appears to be in place. But Pence claims that the US has contact with the Kurds and that they will move out of the "security zone". That's what the AP writes.

The Turkish offensive into northeastern Syria began two days after the US abruptly withdrew the small force they had in the area. Before that, Turkey had mobilized at the border. President Trump's order to withdraw the troops and thus abandon the Kurdish forces that fought IS on behalf of the US has been met with strong criticism at home in the US.