US President Donald Trump on Monday imposed sanctions on Turkey over Ankara's military operation in northeast Syria, and called for an immediate ceasefire.
Turkey launched the cross-border assault on Kurdish fighters last Wednesday after Trump withdrew some US troops from the region, drawing sharp criticism from fellow Republicans who accused him of abandoning allies who had helped him fight against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) armed group.
Turkey says the offensive aims to remove the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from the border area and create a "safe zone" to which millions of Syrian refugees can be returned.
Ankara considers the Kurdish People's Protection Group (YPG), which forms the backbone of the SDF, a "terrorist" group linked to Kurdish separatists inside Turkey.