Ceylanpinar (Turkey), October 16
Turkey rebuffed international pressure to curb its military offensive against Kurdish militants in Syria on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump dispatched his deputy Mike Pence to Ankara to demand a ceasefire.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would not meet with Pence, as the White House had planned for Thursday, and rejected any negotiations with Kurdish militants. The only way to solve Syria’s problems was for the Kurdish forces to “lay down their arms... destroy their traps and get out of the safe zone that we have designated”. — AFP