Defiant Erdogan rejects US ceasefire call in Syria

Turkish President says Ankara 'can never declare ceasefire' in northeastern Syria despite Trump's call for immediate end to Turkish assault.

ISTANBUL - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to declare a ceasefire in northeastern Syria.

"They tell us 'to declare a ceasefire'. We can never declare a ceasefire," Erdogan told journalists on a flight back from Azerbaijan, in comments published by the Hurriyet daily on Wednesday.

Trump has demanded an immediate end to Turkey's assault against Kurdish fighters and civilians in Syria — an assault Turkey began after Trump announced he was moving US troops out of the way.

He said Vice President Mike Pence will be traveling to Turkey on Wednesday to try to reach a ceasefire deal.

He authorized sanctions on Turkey's leaders, reimposed steel tariffs and ended talks on a trade deal, seeking to punish the historic ally.

"I am fully prepared to swiftly destroy Turkey's economy if Turkish leaders continue down this dangerous and destructive path," Trump, who until recently spoken of his friendship with Erdogan, said in a statement.

Turkey launched its military offensive a week ago to clear a border region from Syrian Kurdish forces linked to outlawed Kurdish militants in Turkey after Trump announced that he was pulling out US troops from northern Syria.

Senate Republican and Democratic leaders say President Donald Trump's pullout of US forces in Syria may have created a "power vacuum" that could pose a threat to the US and its allies.

Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered a reminder Tuesday that a veto-proof majority of 70 senators voted earlier this year against such a pullout.

He suggested Trump's move allowed Turkey to invade, "creating a power vacuum begging for the meddling influence of Russia," and leaving Syria open for Iran to advance its reach "unimpeded" toward Israel.

Democratic Leader Charles Schumer blasted Trump for scuttling years of progress American and Syrian Kurdish forces had made against the Islamic State group "in one fell, quick, unthought-out swoop."

The Syrian army has deployed north under a deal between Damascus and the Kurds. The Russian military has moved in to act as a buffer between the Syrian and Turkish armies.

Two Syrian regime soldiers were killed Tuesday by artillery fire from pro-Turkey rebels near Ain Issa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.