Syria safe zone agreement with Turkey will come in stages

washington — An agreement between the United States and Turkey to establish a safe zone in northwest Syria will be implemented gradually, with some operations beginning soon, a Pentagon spokesman said.

“We are currently reviewing options for the Joint Coordination Center with our Turkish military counterparts,” Defence Department spokesman Commander Sean Robertson said.

“The security mechanism will be implemented in stages,” Robertson said.

“The United States is prepared to begin implementing some activities rapidly as we continue discussions with Turkey.”

According to terms of the hardwon agreement between Ankara and Washington reached last

week, authorities will use the coordination center, located in Turkey, to organise a safe zone in northern Syria.

The goal of the zone is to create a buffer between the Turkish border and areas controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) — which is supported by the US but is classified as a terrorist organizsation by Turkey.

But retired general Joseph Votel, the former chief of US troops in the Middle East, has publicly opposed Ankara’s control of such a zone.

In an opinion piece published on The National Interest’s website,

Votel, who headed the US Central Command until last March, warned that he thinks a Syrian security zone controlled by Turkey would “create more problems for all parties involved.”

“Safe zones are generally established to protect people in conflict zones and are usually designed to be neutral, demilitarised, and focused on humanitarian purposes,” Votel wrote in the article with George Washington University Turkey expert Gonul Tol. —

The United States is prepared to begin implementing some activities rapidly as we continue discussions with Turkey Commander Sean Robertson Defence Department spokesman