Russia Warns Trump Over “Safe Zones” / DIMITRI PESKOV

MESOP FOCUS : SAFER ZONES IN SYRIA !? – LAVROV WARNS TRUMP!

January 27 – MESOP – Russia has warned US President Donald Trump not to proceed with “safe zones” inside Syria — even though Trump’s statement appeared to be rhetorical cover for his plan to ban Syrian refugees from the US.Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said on Thursday: Our American partners did not consult with Russia. It is their sovereign decision.

It’s important to make sure that this does not further aggravate the situation with refugees. Evidently, all the possible consequences should be taken into account.In an interview broadcast on Wednesday, Trump made a fleeting reference to the safe zones in a lengthy denunciation of immigration and the admission of refugees into the US:

You’re looking at people that come in, in many cases, in some cases with evil intentions. I don’t want that. They’re ISIS. They’re coming under false pretense. I don’t want that. I’m gonna be the president of a safe country. We have enough problems. Now I’ll absolutely do safe zones in Syria for the people. I think that Europe has made a tremendous mistake by allowing these millions of people to go into Germany and various other countries. And all you have to do is take a look. It’s — it’s a disaster what’s happening over there.

I don’t want that to happen here.

Reuters said it had seen a copy of a draft executive order for a study of the safe areas. The draft said: 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.

But there were no details of what would constitute a safe zone, where they would be located, and how they would be protected. As early as 2012, Obama Administration officials — including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and CIA Director David Petraeus — pressed for areas where Syrian civilians would be secure from bombing by the Assad regime. However, the proposals were vetoed by the President.

Ankara has now established a de facto safe zone in northern Syria, following its intervention from August 2016 alongside rebels that has pushed back the Islamic State. www.mesop.de