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Saudi king agrees to support Syria, Yemen safe zones

Saudi king agrees in call with Trump to support Syria, Yemen safe zones: White House
U.S. President Donald Trump, joined by his senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner (R), speaks by phone with the Saudi Arabia's King Salman in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Saudi king agrees to support Syria, Yemen safe zones

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, in a telephone call on Sunday with U.S. President Donald Trump, agreed to support safe zones in Syria and Yemen, a White House statement said.

Trump, during his presidential campaign last year, had called for Gulf states to pay for establishing safe zones to protect Syrian refugees.

A statement after the phone call said the two leaders agreed on the importance of strengthening joint efforts to fight the spread of Islamic State militants.

“The president requested, and the King agreed, to support safe zones in Syria and Yemen, as well as supporting other ideas to help the many refugees who are displaced by the ongoing conflicts,” the statement said.

The Saudi Press Agency, in an initial readout of the call, made no specific mention of safe zones, but said the two leaders had affirmed the “depth and durability of the strategic relationship” between the two countries.

The agency later said “the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques had confirmed his support and backing for setting up safe zones in Syria”, but did not mention Yemen, where a Saudi alliance is fighting against the Iran-aligned Houthi group.

A senior Saudi source told Reuters the two leaders spoke for more than an hour by telephone and agreed to step up counter-terrorism and military cooperation and enhance economic cooperation.

But the source had no word on whether the two leaders discussed Trump’s order to put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily ban travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries.

The White House statement said the two leaders also agreed on the need to address “Iran’s destabilizing regional activities.” SPA confirmed the report but made no specific mention of Iran.

Both countries share views about Iranian policies in the region, the Saudi source said, suggesting Trump agreed with Riyadh’s suspicion of what it sees as Tehran’s growing influence in the Arab world. Iran denies it meddles in Arab countries.

The White House statement said the two also discussed what it called an invitation from the king for Trump “to lead a Middle East effort to defeat terrorism and to help build a new future, economically and socially,” for Saudi Arabia and the region.

U.S. officials and people close to Trump’s transition team have said a debate is under way in the Trump administration whether the United States should also declare the Brotherhood a terrorist organization and subject it to U.S. sanctions.

1 Comment on Saudi king agrees to support Syria, Yemen safe zones

  1. This is excellent news! Why didn’t Obama even attempt to do This? I guess other nations are realizing that Trump means business, and can come up with solutions that benefit all parties. Anything that will help stem the tide of “refugees” spilling into Europe, and the USA! Well done, sir!!

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