Donald Trump
Donald TrumpReuters

US President Donald Trump on Thursday insisted that the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria “is totally under control and we’re continuing to capture more.”

Speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a factory in Texas, Trump commented on the ceasefire agreement reached with Turkey, saying, “We’ve had a tremendous day in the Middle East. We were a little bit unconventional.”

“Millions and millions of people could have been killed and we were able to do something. During that ceasefire a lot of things are happening people are already seeing them happening,” he added.

Earlier on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to a 120-hour ceasefire in northern Syria following a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence.

As part of the agreement Turkey will suspend its operations to allow the Kurdish YPG forces to withdraw from the designated safe zone.

Turkish soldiers last Wednesday launched a cross-border assault against Kurdish fighters Turkey sees as terrorists.

The operation was launched three days after Trump’s announcement of a withdrawal of US forces in northeastern Syria, leading to some accusations that Trump’s move was an authorization for Turkey to invade the region.

While Trump defended his administration’s plans to withdraw US forces from northern Syria, he also made clear that the US would not allow Turkey to do anything inhumane in Syria.