ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s president agreed to halt his military invasion of northeast Syria on Thursday, following hours of negotiations with two top Trump administration officials, to allow Kurdish fighters to leave the area and avoid, for now, a onslaught that had threatened to prolong Syria’s civil war.
The cease-fire would last for five days, Vice President Mike Pence announced in Ankara after meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for more than four hours.
Mr. Pence cited a “strong relationship” between the United States and Turkey, two longtime NATO allies that had gridlocked over which terror threat in northeast Syria — the Islamic State or a Kurdish separatist group — posed an immediate problem.
“Today, we have agreed to a cease-fire in Syria,” Mr. Pence said.
Mr. Trump hailed the announcement as a diplomatic victory. “Great news out of Turkey,” he wrote on Twitter, minutes before Mr. Pence and Mr. Pompeo were scheduled to hold a news conference. “Thank you to @RTErdogan. Millions of lives will be saved!”
Mr. Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Mr. Erdogan for more than five hours.