Turkey shrugged off sanctions imposed by the Trump administration and pressed deeper into northern Syria on Tuesday, setting up a possible clash with Russian-backed Syrian troops in the flashpoint region of Manbij.

Syrian forces moved into the city west of the Euphrates on Tuesday, filling a void left by US troops who had patrolled the city with Turkey’s military under a longstanding agreement.

Turkey has vowed to capture Manbij.

President Trump told Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week that he would pull US forces out of northern Syria, and Turkey days later launched a military operation to remove Kurdish fighters who had been aligned with the US in the battle against the Islamic State.

Without the assistance of the US military, the Kurds, considered a terror group by Ankara, reached a deal with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s Russian-backed government to protect them from the Turkish onslaught.

Trump, who withdrew the troops in an effort to end America’s involvement in “endless wars,” spoke to Erdogan on Monday to demand he halt the attack on the Kurds and negotiate a cease-fire, Vice President Mike Pence said.

The administration also slapped sanctions on Turkish steel imports and canceled a $100 billion trade deal.

He also decided the 1,000 US troops he had planned to pull would remain in the region to act as a check on any resurgence of ISIS fighters.

Britain announced Tuesday it would halt export licenses to Turkey for items that could be used in military operations.

And German car manufacturer Volkswagen said it would postpone a deal to build a $1 billion plant in Turkey.

Erdogan, writing in the Wall Street Journal, said the European Union and countries around the world should support his military efforts to end the crisis in Syria.

“Many countries have had to deal with the conflict’s negative side effects, including irregular migration and an uptick in terrorist attacks,” Erdogan said in the commentary published Monday. “Operation Peace Spring represents a second chance to help Turkey end proxy wars in Syria and restore peace and stability to the region.”

Syrian state media broadcast images of government forces entering towns and villages in the north as residents cheered for Assad and hugged the soldiers.

Assad’s forces abandoned the region in 2012 at the height of the Syrian civil war.

Turkish-backed Syrian forces said they were moving alongside Turkish troops to capture Manbij and Turkey’s private NTV television showed special forces and commandos advancing on the city.

“The battle of Manbij has begun,” said Mustafa Sejari, an official with the Turkish-backed fighters.

With Post wires