Al Assad rejects safe zones plan in Syria

Three Turkish soldiers killed, 11 wounded by ‘friendly fire’ from Russian warplanes

President Bashar Al Assad rejected the creation of safe zones for refugees and displaced people in Syria, an idea supported by US President Donald Trump, according to a transcript from an interview with Yahoo News released yesterday.

He signalled he would welcome cooperation with Washington in the fight against Daesh, however, as long as the United States took a “clear political position” on Syria’s sovereignty and unity.

Al Assad has cautiously welcomed the new US administration’s focus on fighting the terrorists, in which Trump has held out the possibility of cooperation with Damascus ally Russia.

Under former US President Barack Obama, the United States called for Al Assad’s departure and supported rebels fighting to unseat him.

The Syrian government has rejected the creation of safe zones, favoured by rebel backers including Qatar, which could ratchet up US military involvement in Syria.

“It’s not a realistic idea at all,” Al Assad said in the transcript. “This is where you can have natural safe zones, which is our country. They don’t need safe zones at all.”

“It’s much more viable, much more practical and less costly to have stability than to create safe zones.” Al Assad said safe zones would be at risk of attack from armed groups.

The United Nations also rejects safe zones, saying conditions in Syria, where battles rage on between multiple sides, are not suitable.

Trump has not provided details about the proposed safe zones, except to say he would have the Gulf states pay for them.

Much of the conflict is focused on a number of separate battles being waged against Daesh: by Russian-backed Syrian government forces and their allies, US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters, and Turkishbacked Syrian insurgents.

The United States has deployed special forces to Syria to support the Kurdish YPG militia and its allies, and not in coordination with the Syrian army.

Al Assad said US troops would be “welcome” in Syria to fight Daesh provided Washington coordinates with Damascus and recognises the sovereignty of his government.

“If the Americans are genuine, of course they are welcome.”

Like any other country, we want to defeat and to fight the terrorists,” he said. “Troops is part of the cooperation ... (but) you cannot talk about sending troops ... if you don’t have a clear political position toward not only the terrorism, toward the sovereignty of Syria, toward the unity of Syria,” he said.

“It must be through the Syria government.” - Reuters