Trump Announces Lasting Cease-fire in Syria, Lifts Sanctions on Turkey

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump spoke from the White House Wednesday morning on what he's calling the "big success" along the Turkey-Syria border, announcing the U.S. will be lifting its sanctions against Ankara following a lasting cease-fire reached in the war-torn country.

Trump claimed that the U.S. and only the U.S. is responsible for the cease-fire, but added that it's time to "let someone else fight over this long blood-stained sand." He added that he hopes the cease-fire will be "permanent", but that in "that part of the world," meaning the Middle East, it is difficult to predict the future. 

"Countless lives are now being saved", Trump said. "We reached this outcome without spilling one drop of American blood." 

The U.S. president added that a "small number" of American soldiers will remain in Syria, in areas "where they have oil." Trump said that Kurdish military leaders have assured him that ISIS prisoners who escaped custody – a small number, he claims to have been told – have largely been recaptured, and added claimed his policy in Syria saved the lives of "many, many Kurds."

"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," Trump said. "However, you would also define the word permanent in that part of the world as somewhat questionable. We all understand that."