(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is on his way to Turkey, where he will seek an end to a military offensive in neighboring Syria that has drawn international condemnation and raised concern over an Islamic State resurgence.Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops and stand aside when Turkey advanced into Syria has prompted widespread criticism, even from some of his staunchest defenders in Congress. The White House has since sought to limit the damage by imposing U.S. sanctions on Turkish officials and dispatching Pence, along with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to the region to push for an immediate cease-fire.Pence is due to meet the Turkish president early in the afternoon. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Ankara’s military operation in Syria could end after Kurdish fighters -- who fought for years with the U.S. to defeat Islamic State -- leave a strip of territory in northeast Syria, where they have set up an autonomous administration.Here is a rundown of major events in Turkish local time:
Key Developments
- Pence, Pompeo head to Ankara to seek end to Syria offensive
- Trump faces Congressional rebuke for Syria pullout
- Assad‘s forces take strategic border town of Kobani
- Russian forces patrol areas of northeast Syria after U.S. forces leave
- Trump-Erdogan call led to a lengthy quest to avoid Halkbank trial
Merkel Urges End to Offensive that “strengthens Russia’s position” (10:48 a.m.)
In a speech to lawmakers in Germany’s Bundestag, Chancellor Angela Merkel repeated her plea to Erdogan to end the military incursion into Syria, an “already devastated country.” Germany will join EU member states in halting weapons exports to Turkey.
“In geopolitical terms, this massively strengthens Russia’s position in the region, together with Iran, since the U.S. were withdrawn,” Merkel said early Thursday. “The consequences are at this moment not foreseeable.”
Lira Steadies Before Erdogan Meets Pence on Syria (08:27 a.m.)
The Turkish lira remained near its weakest level in almost five months beforeErdogan meets Pence and Pompeo in Ankara later Thursday.
- The lira was trading at ~5.88 per dollar.
- One-year dollar-lira swaps -1bps to 16.69% after jumping more than 60bps on Wednesday
- Five-year CDS closed above 400bps on Wednesday, nearing a one-month high touched earlier this week
Pelosi Cites Trump ‘Meltdown’ as Republicans Blasts Syria Reversal (02:47 a.m.)
A White House meeting between Donald Trump and congressional leaders to contain fallout from the Syria crisis broke down abruptly Wednesday, with the president hurling insults at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who accused him of having a “meltdown.”Pelosi said Trump appeared to be “shaken” after 129 Republican lawmakers backed a resolution rebuking him for withdrawing U.S. forces from Syria. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump’s insults of Pelosi during a “nasty diatribe” prompted Democratic leaders to leave.
Trump Warns Erdogan: Don’t be ‘Tough Guy’ or ‘Fool’ (11:43 p.m.)
Trump wrote a letter to Erdogan calling on him to “work out a good deal!” and warning him not to be a “tough guy” or “fool.”“History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way,” according to the Oct. 9 letter, reported earlier by Fox Business Network and confirmed by the White House. “It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don’t happen.”
UN Security Council Expresses Concern Over IS (10:30 p.m.)
The United Nations Security Council, deeply divided over Syria since civil war broke out in 2011, issued a statement Wednesday expressing “deep concern” over the risk of the dispersion of terrorists from groups including Islamic State and “over the risk of a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation.”
Syrian Military Forces Enter Key Town of Kobani (8:42 p.m.)
Syrian government forces entered the strategic border town of Kobani Wednesday night, the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, as part of a deal with Kurdish fighters to fend off Turkey’s offensive on the border.Syrian forces also expanded their deployment in the northeastern province of Raqqa earlier in the day, state-run Sana news agency said, showing images of troops carrying their national flag and pictures of Assad as they made their way into the area.Kobani carries a particular symbolic resonance as Kurdish forces backed by U.S. air power ended Islamic State’s hold over the town and its environs in a grueling months-long battle in 2014-2015 that was widely seen as a turning point in the war against the jihadist group.
--With assistance from Nick Wadhams, Saleha Mohsin, Patrick Donahue, Selcan Hacaoglu and David Wainer.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jordan Fabian in Washington at jfabian6@bloomberg.net;Onur Ant in Istanbul at oant@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Paul Abelsky
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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