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Former US envoy: Syria may be central to Trump-Netanyahu meeting

US President Donald Trump has hinted at creating safe zones in Syria in a draft executive order and in conversations with the Saudi king, while the former US ambassador to Israel says Syria will likely be a "central topic" in Trump’s upcoming meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) stands next to Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump during their meeting in New York, September 25, 2016.      Kobi Gideon/Government Press Office (GPO)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo         ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX2YZB7
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WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump raised the prospect of Syria safe zones in a call with the Saudi king Jan. 29, after having removed a provision calling for his secretaries of state and defense to produce a proposal for Syria safe zones from a controversial executive order issued Jan. 27 that bans Syrian refugees from the United States indefinitely.

The deletion of the provision and the subsequent discussion of safe zones with the king have raised questions about what Trump may be envisioning for his policies on Syria, for countering the so-called Islamic State (IS) and for his engagements with foreign counterparts, from Russia to the Middle East.

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