Trump news: President hails disputed Syria 'ceasefire' as White House appears to confirm quid pro quo with Ukraine

Follow the latest updates from Washington, as it happened

Italian interpreter reacts to Trump's assertion Syria has 'a lot of sand'

Donald Trump’s administration announced a ceasefire in northeastern Syria after paving the way for Turkey’s offence to occur in the first place, with the president celebrating the move as a “great day for civilisation”.

The announcement was followed up swiftly by comments from the Turkish government casting doubt on the news, and criticism from those who have suggested that the Trump administration is giving the Turkish government a win by forcing Kurds to leave the region or face an uncertain future.

The breaking news arrives as Mr Trump's ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, a key figure of interest in the impeachment inquiry, is testifying on Capitol Hill behind closed doors, turning on the president in his opening statement by saying he was “disappointed” by the decision to involve Mr Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani in US dealings with Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the president swiftly faced ridicule following the release of a bizarre letter he had written to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan imploring him not to attack the Kurdish fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which appears to have been thrown away and ignored by the recipient.

The mockery follows his dismissal of the crisis in Syria as “not our problem” on Wednesday and his falling out with senior Democrats when they urged him to halt the withdrawal of US troops from the region.

Meanwhile, the United States mourns congressman Elijah Cummings, a leading figure in the Trump impeachment probe, who died overnight after suffering through medical concerns.

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Key Points

• Ambassador turns on president and Rudy Giuliani over Ukraine
• Erdogan 'threw away' Trump letter as president faces ridicule
• Veteran House Oversight chairman Elijah Cummings dies at 68
• President in heated exchanged with Nancy Pelosi over troop withdrawal
• Houses passes resolution condemning military pullout

[17 October 2019 21:00 · Chris Riotta]

“Sanctions and tariffs were going to be biting but we don’t have to do it," Donald Trump told reporters about Turkey. He said the invasion was the "outcome they’ve been trying to get for 10 years."

The president said he “took a lot of heat from a lot of people even some of the people in my own party," according to the pool report..

When it came to Isis detainees who have reportedly escaped from prisons in the region, Mr Trump added: "We’re going to have people watching ISIS. And Isis will be largely watched by the Kurds. Very few have gotten out."

[17 October 2019 21:19 · Chris Riotta]

Breaking news: Energy Secretary Rick Perry is resigning.

Story to come

[17 October 2019 21:40 · Chris Riotta]

Here's video of Donald Trump's stint with reporters after touching down in Texas, where he's set to hold a rally tonight: 

[17 October 2019 21:41 · Chris Riotta]

More on Rick Perry's resignation:

[17 October 2019 22:00 · Chris Riotta]

Here's my story on Elijah Cummings, and how he was kept busy leading an investigation into Donald Trump in the final moments of his life: 

[17 October 2019 22:15 · Clark Mindock]

Donald Trump is in Texas today for a rally, and if you're wondering — yes, yes he has been doing a lot of these lately.

This will be about the third in seven days, after one in Minneapolis a week ago and another in Louisiana just one day later from that.

He's been doing more and more since his campaign "re-launch" in June. This is the most he'll have hosted in a single month.

[17 October 2019 22:30 · Clark Mindock]

White House chief of staff admitted this afternoon that aid to Ukraine was used as leverage by the president to try and force Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, here is what Republicans in the House are choosing to use as their talking points today: 

[17 October 2019 22:45 · Clark Mindock]

Here's Barack Obama's statement on the passing of Elijah Cummings.