Trump: 'Great success' on the Turkish-Syrian border

(Patria) – US President Donald Trump stated that the US will lift sanctions against Turkey and that Ankara has agreed to establish a permanent ceasefire in northeastern Syria.

Trump called the creation of a '30 km safe zone' a 'huge step forward'.

'Sanctions will be lifted unless something happens that we are not happy with,' Trump said, adding, 'by maintaining the ceasefire, we have done something very, very special – tens of thousands of Kurds have been saved.'

His comment comes just a day after Turkish President Erdogan and Russian President Putin announced they had reached an agreement to push Kurdish forces out of a 30 km zone along the Turkish border. This was preceded by a ceasefire brokered by the US last Thursday for Kurdish forces to withdraw from the agreed 'safe zone' strip.

In his address, Trump also said that 'ISIS is under very, very strict lock and key,' and that a 'small number' of their fighters have been 'largely recaptured'.

'Now it is up to Turkey, Syria, and others in the region to ensure that ISIS does not regain territory. This is their neighborhood,' Trump emphasized.

He also called on European countries to repatriate foreign fighters.

Before the address, Trump tweeted: 'Great success on the Turkish-Syrian border. A Safe Zone has been created! The ceasefire has held and military operations have ended. The Kurds are safe and have done very well with us. Captured ISIS prisoners are safe,' reports Euronews.