In the past, former US President Barack Obama had the chance to support Turkey in its attempt to create safe zones inside Syria that would impede the pace of Assad’s air force and allow internally displaced Syrians to further stay in their homeland rather than flee to Turkey and other countries.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been trying to make his voice heard in the international arena to find support on the issue of safe zones in northern Syria as this would curb the refugee flow, which has affected Turkey the most in the entire world, and second, Turkey has serious reservations regarding an autonomous or independent terrorist state along its southern border, namely a state formed by the PKK’s Syrian branch: The Democratic Union Party’s (PYD) armed wing, Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG).
Ankara’s idea has barely found any support from the EU or the US. Last year, German Chancellor spoke out about the subject. Angela Merkel expressed her support for safe zones in Syria, marking the first statement by a European leader to give backing to Erdogan’s plan.
Two months ago, the then US President-elect Donald Trump voiced his idea to set up safe zones in Syria. "We’re going to build safe zones," he told supporters at a rally in Florida in December 2016. Given that Trump’s knowledge of the Middle East is highly likely not any better than a common American, one would not be able to rely on his promise for safe zones in Syria.
After Trump was sworn-in roughly two weeks ago, one of the first things he did was signing a draft order to implement safe zones in Syria. Could it prove to be a glimpse of hope for safe zones in Syria? I do not think so.
Compared to the environment years ago when Erdogan first presented the offer for safe zones, today’s situation is entirely different. While the US had the chance to impose its will on the ground in Syria, in cooperation with Turkey, Russia and Iran are now very much key players.
Establishing safe zones in Syria will not be any easier than in the past. In fact, to be honest, it will be much more difficult to convince Russia, Iran, Turkey and the United States at the same time because each follows its own agenda in Syria.
Even though there is an ongoing so-called ceasefire between the Syrian opposition and the Assad regime, brokered by Ankara and the Kremlin, there are around half a million people still living under siege.
Rather than wasting time on the establishment of safe zones, which should have taken place years ago, all sides should make the Assad regime respect the ceasefire and jump-start negotiations for a political transition that will not include the brutal dictator.
Lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians matter much more than the dirty interests of the U.S., Russia and Iran in Syria.
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Yunus Paksoy is the chief reporter of the Istanbul-based Turkish newspaper DAILY SABAH. Paksoy has covered Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield in Syria and the Mosul Operation in Iraq and focuses on developments in Syria, the Middle East and Turkey’s southeast.
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