Pence, Pompeo head to Turkey for Ceasefire Talks

By Staff, Agencies

US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo departed for Turkey on Wednesday, seeking to secure a ceasefire in the Turkish invasion of northern Syria.

"Our mission set is to see if we can get a ceasefire, see if we can get this brokered," Pompeo told reporters on his plane.

Pence and Pompeo, who traveled on different planes, were scheduled to hold talks on Thursday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, although Erdogan said he will not meet them.

Erdogan has also vowed that Turkey's operation -- which was facilitated by the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria -- would continue.

Earlier on Wednesday, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a resolution condemning US President Donald Trump's decision to pull the US troops out of Syria.

The motion yielded large-scale bipartisan support in a 354-60 vote that saw dozens of Trump's fellow Republicans backing it.