Trump Says He Will Order Safe Zones in Syria, Turkey Eagerly Awaits

Europe made a mistake in admitting Syrian refugees, said U.S. president Donald Trump on Wednesday, adding that he will create safe zones within Syria, Reuters reported.

“I’ll absolutely do safe zones in Syria for the people,” Trump said, without detailing how.

Trump will likely order the Pentagon and State Department to come up with a way to create these safe zones, which could increase U.S. military involvement in Syria, according to a draft executive order viewed by Reuters.

“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,” the draft order said.

The Turkish government is waiting to see the outcome of this proposal, said Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu on Thursday, Reuters reported.

“Setting up of safe zones is something Turkey has advocated from the start,” Muftuoglu said. “The best example is in Jarabulus.” Jarabulus was freed from so-called Islamic State in August by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, allowing residents to return to the small border town. A new Syrian police force, funded and trained by Turkey, was deployed in Jarabulus on Tuesday.

Lavrov Will Meet Syrian Political Opposition on Friday, Rebels Say They Weren’t Invited

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will meet with Syrian opposition officials on Friday, AFP reported. The aim is to strengthen peace efforts after talks in Kazakhstan earlier this week failed to do so.

Russia, a key ally of the Syrian government, sponsored the peace talks in Astana between the government and opposition delegations.

“We have invited on Friday all the opposition representatives from the political opposition that wish to come to Moscow and we will brief them about what happened in Astana,” Lavrov said.

Representatives from armed opposition groups claimed they were not invited to Moscow, but did not rule out the option of attending if they were.

Rebel Factions Join Forces Against Jabhat Fatah al-Sham in Northern Syria

Five rebel factions in northern Syrian joined forces with Ahrar al-Sham in their fight against the former al-Qaida affiliate now known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS), the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.

JFS attacked rebel positions on Wednesday in the western Aleppo countryside and in Idlib, accusing rebel groups – some of whom were attending peace talks in Astana – of conspiring against it.

Located in northwestern Syria, Idlib is under rebel control. JFS is the most powerful group in Idlib. Formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, the jihadists rebranded in July and claimed to have cut off their ties with al-Qaida.

RECOMMENDED READS:

• Chatham House: Pro-Regime Militias Are Now the Biggest Obstacle to Ending the Syrian Conflict
• The National: What Now for Syria’s Peace Process?
• Financial Times: West Sidelined to the Bar in Russia-Led Syria Talks
• The Hill: Gabbard Says She Met With Assad in Syria
• Los Angeles Times: Meet the Culinary Zealot Fighting to Preserve Syrian Cuisine Despite Years of War