Turkey expects to see what will come out of Trump's refugee safe zones in Syria
Turkey is waiting to see the outcome of U.S. President Donald 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.
Trump said on Wednesday he "will absolutely do safe zones in Syria" for refugees fleeing violence. According to a document seen by Reuters, he is expected to order the Pentagon and State Department in the coming days to craft such a plan.
"We have seen the U.S. 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.
"Setting up of safe zones is something Turkey has advocated from the start. The best example is in Jarablus," he said, referring to a town near the Turkish border that was freed from Islamic State by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels last August.
Turkey launched a military incursion into Syria in August, sending in special forces, tanks and warplanes in a bid to drive Islamic State out of a corridor of border territory and prevent Kurdish fighters from seizing ground in their wake.
Read more at Reuters.