Damascus slams French support of buffer zone in Syria

Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad slammed on Wednesday France's support to the idea of setting up a buffer zone between Turkey and Syria, the official SANA news agency reported.

Mekdad condemned in the strongest possible terms the stance of French President Francois Hollande, who has declared his support for the Turkish idea of setting up a buffer zone between Syria and Turkey, adding that the French stance has exposed Hollande's " support for terrorism and for the policies of (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan, who has armed and facilitated the flow of terrorists into Syria to spell the blood of its people."

Earlier in the day, Hollande declared his support for the idea of imposing a buffer zone between Turkey and Syria to create a safe haven for Syrian refugees, echoing the demand of Turkey, which has for long floated the idea of a buffer zone coupled with a no fly zone under the pretext of helping the Syrian refugees.

As the Islamic State (IS) militants have been advancing towards stripping the Syrian Kurds of the strategic city of Kobane on the Syrian-Turkish borders, Ankara revived talks about the need for setting up a buffer zone and a no fly zone in Syria.

Kurdish activists have accused Turkey of supporting the IS to capture the city in a bid to re-float the buffer zone idea and to intervene militarily into Syria.

Still, the idea of imposing a buffer zone has reflected the division among the West as the US officials gave self- contradictory signals over the Turkish demand.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said a buffer zone is "worth examining" while the Pentagon was quick to say that they are not considering the idea because it is costly and controversial.

Back to Damascus, Mekdad stressed that the French stance is an aggression against Syria, urging the international community to shoulder its responsibilities towards the humanitarian situation in Kobane and to halt the "Turkish and French backing to the terrorism" in the predominantly Kurdish city.
Sources: Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
9/10/14
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