US Syria envoy says ‘no role’ for Europe in proposed safe zone
The United States has a “general” deal in place to establish a safe zone in northeastern Syria, the Trump administration’s top Syria policy official said, but the effort will not include European countries.
The United States has a “general” deal in place to establish a safe zone along the Syria-Turkey border, the Donald Trump administration’s top Syria policy official said, but the effort will not include European countries.
Ambassador Jim Jeffrey, the dual-hatted presidential envoy to the anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition and State Department Syria envoy, said that both Turkey and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have agreed to pull back Kurdish forces and to establish a safe zone in northeastern Syria. But Jeffrey told Al-Monitor that European allies would not be part of the arrangement.
“No, there’s no agreement, there’s no request, there’s no role for the Europeans in this space,” Jeffrey said. “That is something that was out there in December. It’s not part of any deal. It hasn’t been discussed.”
The revelation comes after the United States tried for months to cajole the United Kingdom and France to put troops into the proposed safe zone. The zone would serve as a buffer between the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, known as the YPG, and Turkey, which sees the US-backed group as a threat to its national security.
