John Kirby: No need for a 'safe zone'
NEWS CENTER (DİHA) - Though Turkey is pushing for the creation of a safe zone, potentially supported by a no-fly zone, inside Syria, the US has once again made clear that there is no need for the safe zone from either a US military or a coalition perspective.
Speaking at a daily press conference, US State Department Spokesperson John Kirby said Turkish leaders should be in a better position to talk about their plans and whether they intend to establish the safe zone in Syria.
“The US military — and again, I’m not speaking for the Pentagon, but they’ve made it clear that right now they don’t — there isn’t a need for it from a US military or coalition perspective, and that there are difficulties in trying to execute that kind of thing,” Kirby said.
The Turkish media has been abuzz with stories suggesting that Turkey is planning to establish the safe zone, even without the support of the partners in the US-led coalition against the ISIS gangs. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan led a National Security Council (MGK) meeting last week to discuss possible measures that Turkey may take in the face of emerging threats along its border with Syria.
Kirby said Turkey has made its intention to create a safe zone, which may or may not include a no-fly zone, very clear for months, though the US is not aware of any specific military plans that Turkey might have, adding: “And I would let the US military speak for the complications and the difficulties in any kind of US support for that kind of plan. But again, you should refer — I’d refer you to Ankara.”
Kirby also said that the US State Department has made clear that it does not believe there is a need for the safe zone at this time, and that the use of coalition military assets toward the creation of such a zone would require an “awful lot in terms of logistics, time, resources and effort,” adding, “It’s something that the coalition has thus far not been interested in supporting.”
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