From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Pence, Pompeo arrive for Erdogan meetings
ANKARA, Turkey — A senior US delegation arrives for meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on an improbable mission to push for a ceasefire in Northern Syria.
Armored SUVs carrying US Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien entered the vast Turkish presidency complex in Ankara to meet with Erdogan.
The White House says Pence was greeted by his Turkish counterpart before entering a one-on-one meeting with Erdogan. US special envoy for Syria Ambassador James Jeffrey is serving as the American translator. A second meeting with the full delegations was to take place later this afternoon.
The US officials are expected to warn Erdogan that he will face additional economic sanctions if he doesn’t halt his assault on Kurdish forces once allied with the US in the fight against the Islamic State group.
— AP
VIDEO from Erdogan, Pence meeting
Pence and Erdogan are stiff.
“Thanks for seeing me” Pence says.
Ambassador Jeffrey addresses Erdogan in Turkish pic.twitter.com/2AtxIhQNmc
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) October 17, 2019
The Times of Israel Community.