America's abrupt withdrawal of its troops pushed the Kurds to strike a deal with the Russia-backed government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, allowing its forces to return to regions of northern Syria it had abandoned at the height of the eight-year-old civil war. But U.S. troops stepped aside last week as Turkey launched an offensive against the U.S. -backed Kurdish forces.
Kurds in Turkey are free to be Kurds, he said, only if they accept that they're Turkish citizens.
While Russia-backed Syrian troops have moved on the city of Manbij after it was abandoned by USA forces.
Omer Taspinar, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that for decades Turkey has had a policy of "assimilating the Kurds into Turkish ethnic identity, denial of Kurdish ethnic identity and denial of Kurdish linguistic rights". "They won't be making so much money", Mr. Trump said.
Erdogan said he was not concerned by the sanctions.
Erdogan made clear Turkey would not bow to pressure and would press ahead with the military operation until Turkish troops reach a depth of some 30 or 35 kilometers (18 to 21 miles) inside Syria.
"Our proposal is that right now, tonight, all the terrorists lay down their arms, their equipment and everything, destroy all their traps and get out of the safe zone that we have designated", he said.
Russia, a key military ally of Assad, has deployed troops in the country since 2015.
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The United States partnered with the SDF to battle the Islamic State in Syria.
"The Executive Order signed by Trump on Tuesday authorizes the Department of Treasury and the Department of State "... to impose sanctions on individuals, entities, or associates of the Government of Turkey involved in actions that endanger civilians or lead to the further deterioration of peace, security, and stability in northeast Syria".
Syrian army deployments into Kurdish-held territory mark a victory for Assad and Russian Federation, giving them a foothold in the biggest remaining swathe of Syria that had been beyond their grasp through much of its eight-year-old war.
He also defended his move to get US troops out as part of his wider effort to bring Americans home from "endless wars" despite being excoriated by members of his own Republican party.
The president authorized a drawdown of troops in northeastern Syria last week, a decision which has been met with loud criticism from Democrats and Republicans in Congress, who have introduced bipartisan measures to place sanctions on Turkey.
In the latest potential flashpoint, US military aircraft made a "show of force" over Kobani after Turkish-backed fighters came close to American troops there, a USA official said.
But President Erdogan has ignored calls for a ceasefire from Donald Trump, saying the Turkish "goal is clear". We want to bring our soldiers back home and we are being very tough on Turkey and a lot of others, he said. They're going to argue it out, maybe they're going to fight it out.
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