Trump announces final ceasefire in northern Syria and decides to lift sanctions on Turkey

US President Donald Trump said Turkey had abided by a ceasefire in northern Syria that exceeded expectations and announced that he had asked the US Treasury Secretary to lift US sanctions against Ankara.

"The Turkish government has informed my administration that it will cease hostilities and its offensive in Syria, making the ceasefire permanent," he said in a White House speech on Wednesday. "So I ordered the Treasury Secretary to lift all the sanctions imposed on Ankara on October 14." .

Trump called on countries in the region to help Turkey and Syria maintain security on the border, stressing that the US-Turkish agreement saved thousands of Kurds in northern Syria.

He explained that the ceasefire in northern Syria - according to the US-Turkish agreement - has spared the region military intervention that could have had catastrophic and tragic consequences and claimed many lives.

The president revealed that a small US force would remain in the vicinity of oil wells in northern Syria.

Trump said he had spoken to General Mazloum, commander of the so-called SDF, "and was very grateful for what the United States did and assured me that ISIS is under control and that the prisons and detention centers of ISIS members are heavily guarded."

He added that the US forces defeated ISIS by 100%, saying that Syria and Turkey should be careful not to re-take control of the organization again on the territory.

The Turkish Defense Ministry announced Wednesday morning that Washington has informed Ankara of the completion of the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters from the safe area in northern Syria, explaining in a statement that there is no need at this stage to launch another operation outside the current area of ​​operations.

Turkey has agreed to a truce brokered by US Vice President Mike Pence, and imposed a five-day ceasefire in northern Syria, which ended on Tuesday, to allow Kurdish fighters to withdraw.

A Turkish-Russian summit in the city of Sochi on Tuesday reached an agreement on the departure of Kurdish fighters from the Turkish border within 30 kilometers within 150 hours.