United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed 'any efforts' to de-escalate the situation in northern Syria and protect civilians, a U.N. spokesman said in a statement on Thursday after Turkey agreed to pause its offensive there. 'The Secretary-General recognizes that there is still a long way to go for an effective solution to the crisis in Syria,' U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement. Turkey agreed to pause its offensive for five days to let Kurdish forces withdraw from a 'safe zone' Ankara had sought to capture, in a deal hailed by the Trump administration and cast by Turkey as a complete victory.
