Is it too late to stop Turkey’s military operation in Syria?
US President Donald Trump has sent top envoys to Turkey to seek a ceasefire agreement.
Donald Trump, the president of the United States, is trying to limit the fallout from Turkey‘s military offensive in northeastern Syria.
He is widely accused of clearing the way for the operation to happen by withdrawing US troops from the area.
Turkish air attacks on Kurdish fighters began last week, quickly followed by troops on the ground.
The US House of Representatives has delivered a bipartisan rebuke by overwhelmingly opposing Trump’s troop withdrawal.
Trump has sent both Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Ankara to try and broker a ceasefire, but Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists he will not back down.
Can a compromise be found?
Presenter: Sohail Rahman
Guests:
Ranj Alaaldin – Visiting fellow, Brookings Doha Center
Mithat Rende – Retired Turkish ambassador to Qatar
David Pollock – Director of Project Fikra, a Middle East research programme at the Washington Institute