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Erdogan pushes Syrian safe zone at UN

As many as three million refugees could be settled in northeast Syria if Turkey establishes a buffer zone along its border, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told world leaders at the United Nations summit, though a meeting to persuade US President Donald Trump did not materialize.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds up a map as he addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid - HP1EF9O181E99

ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took his case for a "safe zone" in northeast Syria to the world stage this week, telling the United Nations General Assembly that as many as three million refugees could be moved to an area of the war-torn country now controlled by US-allied Kurds.

Turkey wants to create an initial “peace corridor” 30 kilometers (19 miles) deep and 480 kilometers (300 miles) long east of the Euphrates River to repatriate Syrians who have fled the eight-year war that has killed a half-million people, Erdogan told world leaders gathered for the UN’s annual meeting on Tuesday.

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