Russia gets a win in Syria as the U.S. escalates pressure on Turkey

Russian forces moved into territory in northern Syria vacated by the Americans, underscoring the sudden loss of U.S. influence in the eight-year-old conflict in Syria.

After President Trump’s abrupt order last week to withdraw, the Pentagon is faced with hastily disassembling combat bases that were built to last, and protecting troops who are departing amid a chaotic battlefield.

What’s next: Mr. Trump is sending a delegation that includes Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Turkey, to push for a halt on the country’s advance into Syria. They are both expected to push President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to negotiate a cease-fire. It’s part of a scrambled effort to wrest back control of a chaotic situation in Syria.

And the Justice Department escalated the pressure by filing fraud and money laundering charges against Turkey’s second largest state-owned bank.