Trump praises “great success” of safe zone on Turkey-Syria border, announces lifting of sanctions against Ankara… More than 100 ISIS prisoners have fled the country

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday hailed the agreement reached by Turkey and Russia to drive Kurdish fighters out of the region on the border between Syria and Turkey, calling it a “great success”.

Trump has been heavily criticized for his surprise decision to withdraw US troops from northern Syria, setting the stage for Turkey to launch an offensive against the Kurds, Washington’s allies in fighting the Islamic State.

Trump announced that the United States will lift the sanctions imposed on Turkey, praising the success of the ceasefire on the Turkish-Syrian border.

“Earlier this morning, the Turkish government informed my administration that it would cease hostilities and its offensive in Syria, making the ceasefire permanent”, he said in a televised speech”.

Trump’s announcement comes after an agreement reached Tuesday in Sochi, under which Russia and Syria would “facilitate” the removal of YPG fighters from the border.

The agreement also includes the retention of Turkey “safe area” inside Syria for a length of 120 km and a depth of 32 km.

Russia and Turkey will start joint patrols along the region.

Trump said some soldiers would remain in Syria’s oil fields despite the broader withdrawal from the country.

“We guarantee oil security.

Thus, a limited number of US troops will remain in the region where the oil is”.

Trump warned that “harsh” sanctions could be re-imposed if Turkey failed to meet its obligation to protect religious and ethnic minorities.

Under an agreement reached Tuesday in the Russian resort of Sochi, Moscow is facilitating the withdrawal of the YPG from areas stretching between the Euphrates River and the Iraqi border.

Turkey also maintains another area in northeastern Syria, where its army is deployed between the 120-kilometer towns of Ras Al Ain and Tal Abyad, which it seized during its October 9 offensive against the YPG.

“Tremendous success on the border between Turkey and Syria”, Trump wrote on Twitter.

A safe zone was created.

The ceasefire has held up and the combat missions are over…

The Kurds are safe and have worked well with us.

The imprisoned ISIS prisoners were secured”.

For his part, a senior US official said Wednesday that more than 100 prisoners of the Islamic State fled in Syria after the chaos caused by the Turkish attack in the north of the country.

“We can say that the number is now over 100.

We don’t know where they are”, James Jeffrey, the US State Department envoy to Syria, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee when asked about the prisoners.