U.S. President Donald Trump has lifted the sanctions he imposed on Turkey last week over its offensive against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.
This came after Russia agreed with Turkey to deploy troops to extend a ceasefire along the Turkey-Syria border.
Lee Seung-jae has more.
Nine days after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Turkey for Ankara's attack on Kurdish fighters in northern Syria,... President Trump on Wednesday announced that his administration is lifting the sanctions after the Turks ended their offensive in the region.
"Early this morning, the government of Turkey informed my administration that they would be stopping combat, and their offensive in Syria, and making the cease fire permanent, and it will indeed be permanent. However, you would also define the word permanent in that part of the world, is somewhat questionable. We all understand that, but I do believe it will be permanent. I've therefore instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to lift all sanctions imposed on October 14th."
Trump insisted the ceasefire was created by the U.S., and nobody else.
However, others say it was Russia and Turkey that did the ceasefire deal.
With the deal agreed by the two sides on Tuesday,... Russian and Syrian troops will facilitate the removal of Kurdish fighters in an area up to 30 kilometers along the border.
As part of the deal, Turkey will continue to control an area it took in the recent offensive.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin expressed hope on Wednesday that with the latest agreement,... the Kurds will voluntarily pull out from regions near the Syrian-Turkish border, without bloodshed,... but he also demanded that U.S. troops leave Syria.
According to the UN,... more than 176-thousand people have been displaced in the past two weeks,... so Turkey and Russia have agreed to help them return "in a safe and voluntary manner".
However with no Kurdish forces in the area to protect them,... observers say it's unlikely they will want to return.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
