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The international community has responded cautiously to a Turkish proposal to set a buffer zone inside war-ravaged Syria, despite it being an important condition set by Turkey to step up its efforts in the fight against the Islamic State (IS).
Over the past few days, Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan has repeatedly asked for the creation of a buffer zone in Syria to protect Turkey and house over 1.5 million Syrians who have fled to Turkey. The details of his plan remain obscure, but reports suggest that Turkey wants the enforcement of a buffer zone a few kilometers into Syria from the border, backed up by a no-fly zone.
Global powers are keen to involve NATO-member Turkey, with its experienced and well-trained army, in the fight against the IS. Earlier in the week, French President Francois Hollande spoke with Erdogan over the phone and verbally agreed over the creation of the buffer zone. Since then, the West has largely given Turkey the cold shoulder over the idea, but has not completely ruled it out so as to not offend them.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that he had discussed the idea in his talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara on Tuesday.
However, he was cautious of the idea and said, “It has not been on the table of any NATO discussions yet and it is not an issue which is discussed in NATO”.
Meanwhile, White House spokesman Josh Earnest insisted that the idea is “not something that is under consideration right now”. The statement went back on earlier US comments made by John Kerry said that “the buffer zone is an idea that’s out there, it’s worth examining, it’s worth looking at very, very closely”.
British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon in an interview said with the BBC radio said that the idea of a buffer zone “is something we will certainly look at”, without committing further.