Putin Says Trump Backs Syria Plan, Russia Open to No-Fly Zones

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Syrians walk past damaged buildings on April 7, 2017, in the rebel-held town of Douma.
Photographer: Sameer al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images

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By Ilya Arkhipov, Henry Meyer, and Cagan Koc

May 3, 2017 at 4:12 PM UTC

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he secured the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump for a proposal to establish safe zones in Syria which could include a ban on bombing raids.

Putin said after talks with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Wednesday that Russia, Turkey and Iran, which brokered a shaky cease-fire in Syria at the end of last year, have agreed on the need for such areas to cement the truce.