Trump says he will order ‘safe zones’ for Syria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he “will absolutely do safe zones in Syria” for refugees fleeing violence in the war-torn country.
Saying Europe had made a tremendous mistake by admitting millions of refugees from Syria and other Middle Eastern trouble spots, Trump told ABC News in an interview: “I don’t want that to happen here.”
“I’ll absolutely do safe zones in Syria for the people,” he added, without giving details.
According to a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday, Trump is expected to order the Pentagon and the State Department in coming days to craft a plan for setting up the safe zones, a move that could risk escalation of US military involvement in Syria’s civil war.
Turkey is waiting to see the outcome of Trump’s pledge to order safe zones in Syria, and has long advocated such a plan, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu said on Thursday.
“We have seen the US president’s request for conducting a study. What’s important is the results of this study and what kind of recommendation will come out,” Muftuoglu told reporters at a briefing in Ankara.
The draft executive order awaiting Trump’s signature signaled the new administration was preparing a step that Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, long resisted, fearing being pulled deeper into the bloody conflict and the threat of clashes between US and Russian warplanes over Syria.
“The secretary of state, in conjunction with the secretary of defense, is directed within 90 days of the date of this order to produce a plan to provide safe areas in Syria and in the surrounding region in which Syrian nationals displaced from their homeland can await firm settlement, such as repatriation or potential third-country resettlement,” the draft order said.
Creation of safe zones could ratchet up US military involvement in Syria and mark a major departure from Obama’s more cautious approach. Increased US or allied air power would be required if Trump chooses to enforce “no fly” restrictions, and ground forces might also be needed to protect civilians in those areas.
Still, the document gave no details on what would constitute a safe zone, exactly where they might be set up and who would defend them. Jordan, Turkey and other neighboring countries already host millions of Syrian refugees. The Turkish government had long pressed Obama, without success, for creation of a no-fly zone in Syria on its border with Turkey.
The draft raised the possibility of establishing those havens in neighboring countries but did not elaborate.
Trump’s call for a plan for safe zones is part of a larger directive expected to be signed in coming days that includes a temporary ban on most refugees coming to the United States and a suspension of visas for citizens of Syria and six other Middle Eastern and African countries deemed to pose a terrorism threat.
It represents a modified version of the blanket ban on Muslims entering the United States that Trump advocated on the campaign trail last year, sparking criticism from human rights groups and across the US political spectrum.
US military officials had long warned that the creation of no-fly zones inside Syria would require a large number of additional resources beyond the fight against Islamic State and it would be difficult to ensure that jihadist insurgents did not infiltrate those areas amid the chaos of the civil war.
Some Republican lawmakers have advocated the creation of such zones, especially to protect civilians fleeing the conflict against attacks by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
During and after the presidential campaign, Trump called for no-fly zones to harbor Syrian refugees as an alternative to allowing them into the United States. Trump accused the Obama administration of failing to properly screen Syrian immigrants entering the United States to ensure they had no radical Islamist ties.
Obama’s aides have insisted the vetting was meticulous and that none of the Syrian refugees allowed in has been implicated in any attacks.