Trump news: President hails disputed Syria 'ceasefire' as White House appears to confirm quid pro quo with Ukraine
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump’s administration announced a ceasefire in northeastern Syria after paving the way for Turkey’s offence to occur in the first place, with the president celebrating the move as a “great day for civilisation”.
The announcement was followed up swiftly by comments from the Turkish government casting doubt on the news, and criticism from those who have suggested that the Trump administration is giving the Turkish government a win by forcing Kurds to leave the region or face an uncertain future.
The breaking news arrives as Mr Trump's ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, a key figure of interest in the impeachment inquiry, is testifying on Capitol Hill behind closed doors, turning on the president in his opening statement by saying he was “disappointed” by the decision to involve Mr Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani in US dealings with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the president swiftly faced ridicule following the release of a bizarre letter he had written to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan imploring him not to attack the Kurdish fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which appears to have been thrown away and ignored by the recipient.
The mockery follows his dismissal of the crisis in Syria as “not our problem” on Wednesday and his falling out with senior Democrats when they urged him to halt the withdrawal of US troops from the region.
Meanwhile, the United States mourns congressman Elijah Cummings, a leading figure in the Trump impeachment probe, who died overnight after suffering through medical concerns.
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To be clear, the president told Volodymyr Zelensky he was looking forward to seeing him at the White House.
To recap: The next G7 summit will be held at Donald Trump's own Doral resort in Florida despite concerns over conflicts of interest, the White House has announced.
Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney announced the decision on Thursday during a press briefing at the White House while defending the move and anticipating criticism about hosting the major summit at the president’s private business property.
Mr Mulvaney said he was “sceptical” about hosting the event at the Doral property and that he “gets the criticism” surrounding the move.
Still, he said “the president has been very clear that he does not profit” by hosting world leaders and other political events at his properties.
The acting chief of staff also suggested Mr Trump was the one to suggest his Doral property to members of a team who were seeking out potential venues to host the summit across the country.
Story to come...
Mick Mulvaney says he's not going to discuss his private conversations with the president or why the White House put a transcript of Mr Trump's phone call with Ukraine in a secret server.
"If we wanted to cover this up, would we have called the Justice Department almost immediately and have them look at the transcript," Mr Mulvaney says. "There's no cover up".
Mick Mulvaney leaves the room as a reporter shouts "Why are you afraid to take questions from CNN, sir?"
The press conference has now concluded. A recap story is coming in shortly.
Mike Pence says the ceasefire will last 120 hours so Kurdish forces can leave the region. Turkey "will engage in no military action" towards the community of Kobani.
Mike Pence says Turkey will halt its operations "entirely" upon the completion of the ceasefire.
The vice president said Donald Trump is happy about the decision.
The outcome is a "great contribution to the strong and enduring relationship between the United States of America and Turkey."
Mike Pence thanks Americans "whose hearts were heavy with the loss of life" seen in Syria in recent weeks.
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