US President-elect Donald Trump says that after taking office he will build safe zones in Syria to protect the civilian population and will get the Gulf states to pay for them.
"I will get the Gulf states to give us lots of money, and we'll build and help build safe zones in Syria so people can have a chance," he said during a post-election rally on Thursday night in Pennsylvania.
Trump said the US did not have the financial resources to build the safe havens due to its $20 trillion national debt, but the President-elect added that the work could be carried out by the Gulf monarchies, which "have nothing but money", reports Efe.
"When I look at what's going on in Syria, it's so sad," he said. "It's so sad, and we've got to help people."
Trump did not mention the battle for Aleppo, where President Bashar al-Assad's forces regained full control of the city this week from US-backed rebels after years of fighting.
In recent months, Aleppo became a major point of dispute between Washington and Moscow, which has intervened in the conflict on the side of Assad, its staunchest ally in the Arab world.
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday demanded that the Syrian government and Russia implement an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Aleppo and accused Damascus and Moscow of "indiscriminate and savage brutality" against civilians.
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