Local residents cheer, as Turkish army tanks are transported on trucks in the outskirts of the town of Akcakale, in Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey, at he border of Syria, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019. (Photo: AP)

Turkey’s president has responded to a tweet by Donald Trump in which the US leader says a Turkish-US cease-fire deal will save millions of lives.

In his response, Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted Thursday: “Mr. President, many more lives will be saved when we defeat terrorism, which is humanity’s arch enemy.”

Erdogan’s reply came hours after the US and Turkey agreed to a five-day cease-fire in northern Syria during which Kurdish fighters would withdraw to roughly 20 miles from the Turkish border. Turkey regards the Syrian Kurdish fighters as terrorists due to their links to outlawed Kurdish rebels fighting in Turkey.

The arrangement appeared to be a significant embrace of Turkey’s position in the weeklong conflict.