Damascus: No international force for Syria safe zones

Syria’s foreign minister dismisses the idea of international forces patrolling four safe zones that are to be established under a deal struck by Russia, Iran and Turkey, suggesting Damascus would only settle for Russian “military police,” who are already on the ground in the so-called de-escalation zones.

Damascus will abide by the agreement signed in the Kazakh capital of Astana last week, Walid al-Moallem tells reporters at a news conference in the Syrian capital, but cautioned it is “premature” to tell whether the deal will succeed.

“There will be no presence by any international forces supervised by the United Nations,” al-Moallem says. “The Russian guarantor has clarified that there will be military police and observation centers.”

Though he does not specify who the military police will be, he appears to be referring to Russian observers already in Syria.

Al-Moallem also vows that Syrian government forces will respond “decisively” to any violation or attack from the opposition’s side.

The Russia-Iran-Turkey cease-fire deal went into effect over the weekend and brought a general reduction in violence across the country, but clashes continued, particularly in central Syria. There are still questions about how the deal will be enforced.

— AP