Trump Calls Syria Cease-Fire 'Permanent' After Russia, Turkey Make Deal

President Trump says Turkey has agreed to what he called a permanent cease-fire in northern Syria, ending its military offensive against Kurdish forces that began after the U.S. pulled its troops from the area.

Updated at 12:30 p.m. ET

Trump said his decision to remove U.S. forces — criticized by U.S. Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike — helped to bring the deal to fruition.

"This was an outcome created by us, the United States, and nobody else, no other nation," he said. "We're willing to take blame and we're also willing to take credit, this is something they've been trying to do for many, many decades."

Trump said the U.S. will lift sanctions imposed on Turkey in the wake of its incursion into Syria. But, Trump warned that the sanctions could be re-imposed if Turkey fails to protect religious and ethnic minorities.

Trump abruptly announced on Oct. 6 that U.S. troops would withdraw from northern Syria. Lawmakers accused Trump of abandoning Kurdish forces, who were key allies in the U.S. fight against ISIS. Turkey argues that the Kurdish fighters are terrorists.

Trump used his remarks to push back against that criticism.

"The people that I watched and read giving me and the United States advice, were the people that I had been watching and reading for many years," he said. "They are the ones that got us into the Middle East mess, but never had the vision or the courage to get us out, they just talked."

The announcement of the permanent cease-fire comes after a deal was reached on Tuesday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The agreement calls for the withdrawal of Syrian Kurdish forces from the Turkish border and then joint military patrols of the area now occupied by the Kurdish military. [Copyright 2019 NPR]