Kremlin Urges US to Consider Risks of Setting up ‘Safe’ Zones in Syria

MOSCOW- The Kremlin calls on the United States to consider all the possible risks of creating ‘safe’ zones in Syria. It says that the United States has made no coordination with Moscow about such decision, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Itar Tass.

“It is important that this does not worsen the situation,” Peskov told reporters. “All the possible consequences should be considered,” he stressed., noting that the US partners had not consulted with Russia before announcing the decision.

 US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he “will absolutely do safe zones in Syria”. He told ABC News in an interview that Europe made a tremendous mistake by allowing millions of refugees to enter Germany and other European countries. “I don’t want that to happen here (in the US),” Trump said

Russian UN envoys says Astana talks were important shake-up for Syria settlement process

Meantime, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said on Wednesday that the just-ended Astana talks that involved representatives of both official Damascus and the “opposition” was “an important shake-up” for the process of settlement of the crisis in Syria which is to be continued by the United Nations-brokered negotiations in Geneva,

“I think everybody agrees it was an important shake-up for the [settlement] process. Now it needs to continue in Geneva, new people are going to be involved now into these discussions. I think the result [of the Astana talks] was good,” he said.

He said he doesn’t think the communique adopted after the Astana talks needs any approval from the United Nations Security Council. “I haven’t received any instructions to that effect [from Moscow]. It stands on its own well enough I think,” the Russian diplomat noted.

H.M