Major powers call for ceasefire in north-east Syria

The group said political prisoners needed to be released and fair elections held

A US soldier observes from a military base in north-east. AP

A number of powerful Western and Arab states have seemingly condemned the recent Turkish-led incursion into north-east Syria.

In a statement the foreign ministers of Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the US and UK did not name Turkey directly but said “we particularly call upon all actors in the northeast to immediately implement a ceasefire and to halt all military offensive operations”.

Turkey regards Kurdish forces in north-east Syria as terrorist. But countries such as the US and UK allied with Kurdish-led fighters in the battle against ISIS.

The Turkish offensive was launched after President Donald Trump announced he would be withdrawing the majority of US troops from the area.

“We remain committed to upholding the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Syria and oppose forced demographic change,” the statement said.

The group also called for an end to hostilities in the last major rebel redoubt of Idlib but also said the threat of terrorism in the province needed to be dealt with.

“We also ask the international community to commit to support the UN on implementation of all aspects of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, notably a nationwide ceasefire, the creation of a genuine and representative Syrian constitution, the mass release of political prisoners, as well as UN-supervised elections that are free, fair and credible.”

The resolution calls for a ceasefire and political settlement.