Davutoglu calls for safe zone in Syria

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that this is the time to set up a safe zone in Syria against ISIS’s attacks, noting that the Turkish-US understanding regarding the fight against ISIS should include support for moderate Syrian opposition groups.

In an interview with CNN yesterday, Davutoglu said that since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, Turkey has defended the need to form a safe zone for two reasons: the first is to ensure that a place is found within Syria to accommodate Syrian refugees, pointing out that Turkey is currently hosting nearly two million Syrian refugees.

Secondly, he said, a safe zone would prevent the flow of terrorist groups and would be a safe haven for the Syrians who are exposed to attacks from both the Syrian regime and terrorist groups. “If that was done before, [the] Assad regime wouldn’t be killing so many people, or pushing them to Turkey, Jordan, Iraq or Lebanon. There wouldn’t be any place or power vacuum for ISIS to be active,” he told CNN.

In response to a question as to whether the safe area would be available for training and arming the opposition, Davutoglu affirmed that a comprehensive approach should be pursued.

Davutoglu pointed out that Turkey had agreed with the United States to open its air bases to serve the fight against ISIS and all terrorist groups in Syria, as part of the international coalition, adding that at the same time there must be a strategy for the future of Syria, therefore Turkey and the US should support moderate opposition groups.

“To have a safe area for [moderate opposition forces] to control and to receive refugees there will be a strategic asset for the future of Syria and the fight against terror at the same time,” he said.

Answering a question about the operations launched by Turkey against the Kurdistan Workers party (PKK), Davutoglu said that “this fight is against PKK … not against Kurds.”