By Reuters , Israel Hayom Staff–
Turkey ignored new sanctions from the United States to press on with its assault on northern Syria on Tuesday, while the Russia-backed Syrian army entered one of the most hotly contested cities, filling a void created by Donald Trump’s abrupt retreat.
A week after reversing US policy and moving troops out of the way to allow Turkey to attack Washington’s allies in northern Syria, Trump announced a package of sanctions to punish Turkey.
But financial markets shrugged off the announcement. The Turkish lira actually went up, with traders noting Trump had spared Turkish banks from punishment.
Trump’s unexpected decision to withhold protection from Syria’s Kurds after a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan a week ago swiftly upended five years of US policy in the Middle East, giving a free hand to Washington’s adversaries in the world’s deadliest ongoing war.
The United States announced on Sunday it was withdrawing its entire force of 1,000 troops. Its former Kurdish allies immediately forged a new alliance with the Russia-backed Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad, inviting the army into towns across the breadth of Kurdish-held territory. Continue Reading….