Germany seeking “safe zones” in Syria to shelter refugees

Germany is seeking the creation of “safe zones” to shelter refugees in Syria, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday (April 23), an idea Turkey has long championed in the face of U.N. caution.

Keeping refugees on the Syrian side of the border would help Brussels and Ankara, which hosts 2.7 million Syrian refugees, stem the flow of migrants to European shores.

The U.N. has warned against the plan unless there was a way to guarantee the refugees’ safety in the war-torn state. Aid workers have opposed it.

The cessation of hostilities in Syria which began at the end of February and was sponsored by Russia and the United States to allow for peace talks, has since faltered. The opposition walked out of negotiations in Geneva and said the truce, which excluded powerful jihadist groups such as Islamic State and the Nusra Front, al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, was no longer in place.

At a news conference in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, Merkel called for “zones in which we can provide assurance and security guarantees.”

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu backed Merkel’s call.

“Despite the fact that we have been voicing this opinion constantly, the Security Council of the United Nations and the international community did not take the necessary steps and the result of that is actually a significant burden and suffering on the Syrian people and on the Turkish people as well. We have taken every measure to protect our national security and we will continue to do that,” he said.

Merkel was on a one day visit to southeast province of Gaziantep in a bid to soothe tensions over a deal meant to stem the flow of migrants to Europe.

There is much at stake for both sides. Merkel lobbied sceptical European partners to back the deal, under which Turkey agreed to take back migrants who cross the Aegean Sea illegally, and is under political pressure at home to show progress.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has also put Merkel in a difficult position by demanding that Germany press charges against a comedian who recited a sexually crude satirical poem about him on a German public broadcaster last month.

Merkel said she discussed press freedom in Turkey with Davutoglu.

“As for the issues regarding the freedom of press, for example accreditation of journalists, we talked for example the journalist from ARD, the German television channel which has kept us busy. We raise these issues with each other, we put it on the table, we talk about it in a frank manner which is not to say that one is always 100 percent in agreement with the other quickly but the same is the case with the members states of the European Union. We are not always in agreement,” she said.

As tens of thousands of refugees fleeing the fighting in Syria are unable to cross into Turkey, and instead are camped near the Azaz border crossing where local agencies offer humanitarian support, some have accused Turkey of stealthily forming such a zone.

The EU-Turkey agreement to send back thousands of migrants from the Greek islands to Turkey has also been fiercely criticised by United Nations refugee and human rights agencies, as immoral and a violation of international humanitarian law.

Rights groups say Turkey is not a country where returnees can be guaranteed proper protection.

One side of the bargain, used to sell the migrant deal to the Turkish public, was Turks winning quicker visa-free travel to Europe, a pledge that now could go unfulfilled, at least by the June deadline Davutoglu had wanted.

On Saturday, Davutoglu said Turkey met all its responsibilities in the migrant deal, such as issuing refugee work permits, denying claims that Syrians were being sent back to their war-torn homeland against their will.

Amnesty International has said Syrians are being shot at trying to enter Turkey, while others are being deported to Syria against their will.

European Council President Donald Tusk said Turkey was the best example in the world on how to treat refugees.