Turkey thanks Merkel for support of safe zones in Syria

Turkey's foreign minister has thanked German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her support of the Turkish government's demand to establish safe zones inside Syria, while U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed wariness over a safe zone in Syria, saying that up to 30,000 troops would be needed to maintain the area. 

"Merkel's support is important. We thank her very much," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu told the Anadolu Agency on Feb 25.      

Turkey has long proposed the establishment of safe zones inside Syria so that Syrians leaving their homes could be sheltered in their own country but has failed to garner sufficient support from the international community, particularly the United States. Turkey has reiterated its proposal to secure a 10-kilometer-deep strip of the Syrian border as a safe zone, as intensified clashes between Russia-backed regime forces and opposition forces pushed a new refugee influx into Turkey. 

Given the huge refugee problem threatening the EU's unity, Merkel expressed her support for Turkey's proposal to keep fleeing Syrians inside Syria. 

"This proposal of Turkey was not seriously discussed when we first brought it to the agenda. But even with delay, Turkey's proposal is now understood," he said. 

"It's important that Merkel endorses this idea but this should be taken into account in a serious way. If you support this idea with the understanding of 'How can we stop refugees?' after this problem knocks your door, then this would be a provisional support. We can only healthily discuss and take steps about the proposals Turkey objectively brought to the table with the understanding of 'What can we do altogether for Syrians?" he said.

Safe zones will not only be useful for stemming the...