Syria warns US on risks of setting safe zones for civilians

BEIRUT — Syria issued a warning Monday about safe zones for civilians that President Donald Trump has expressed interest in creating, saying it would have to come in coordination with the Syrian government, otherwise it would be unsafe and violate the nation’s sovereignty.

The announcement by Foreign Minister Walid alMoallem came about a week after the Trump administration’s expressed interest in setting up safe zones for civilians in wartorn Syria, an idea that was greeted with caution by Russia and Turkey, who have taken the lead in the latest peace efforts to end the Mideast country’s devastating six-year war.

The idea of safe zones, proposed by both Trump and his rival, Hillary Clinton, during the presidential election campaign, was ruled out by the Obama administration for fear it would put U.S. aircraft in harm’s way with Russia waging an air campaign to aid Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.

The recent rapprochement between Russia and Turkey, a key backer of Syrian rebels which now has thousands of troops in northern Syria, in theory makes the creation of safe zones more achievable. So does Trump’s pledge to mend ties with Moscow.

Meanwhile, al-Moallem called on all Syrian refugees who fled the civil war to return home, pledging that the government will meet all their needs. It was not clear if the call was related to Trump’s executive orders placing a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen, and a 120-day suspension of entry by refugees. Syrians are indefinitely blocked from entry.