Ankara supports the idea of "safe zones" in Syria and pressed the need for them to be properly funded, the Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at the inauguration of a Turkish hospital which has been built in Doha.
Cavusoglu said that only through making the zones habitable would tens of thousands of Syrians be encouraged to return home.
"Firstly, we need to defend this idea," Cavusoglu said in Qatar. "Secondly, when it becomes a safe zone, we need to build houses, schools and facilities, therefore we need to raise funds together to develop the safe zone area so the people can live in a proper conditions," he added.
"When we have the safe zone with the infrastructure... I am sure many refugees will prefer to go back," AFP cited him as saying.
