Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be joining Vice President Mike Pence in Turkey as part of an effort to broker a cease-fire in Syria.
The delegation will include Pence and Pompeo as well as new national security adviser Robert O’Brien. Pence’s office announced the decision to include Pompeo on Tuesday. While in Turkey, Pence will meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in an attempt to end Turkish attacks against Kurdish forces who helped America destroy the Islamic State’s territorial gains in Syria.
The move comes a day after President Trump, under pressure from a bipartisan slate of congressional leaders, signed executive sanctions targeting Turkey. In addition to other economic punishments, the new sanctions raise tariffs on Turkish steel from 25% to 50%.
Pence is scheduled to meet with Erdoğan on Thursday. Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday, Pence said that Trump and Erdoğan spoke over the phone in a call initiated by the Turkish president. Trump called on Erdoğan to put an “immediate end” to his country’s invasion in Syria.
“We’re having very strong talks with a lot of people,” Trump said at a White House ceremony on Tuesday. “We want to bring our soldiers back home after so many years. They’re the greatest warriors in the world. They’re policing. They’re not a police force.”
“We’re being very tough on Turkey and a lot of others,” he added.
The Turkish invasion stemmed from Trump’s decision to move troops out of northern Syria, paving the way for Turkey to attack Kurdish forces who it views as terrorists. As a result, the Kurdish-majority Syrian Democratic Forces struck a deal with Syrian strongman Bashar Assad, allowing forces loyal to the Syrian government to enter the region and protect them.
