Syria safe zone will help 1.7 mln refugees return: Erdogan

Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said the formation of a safe zone inside war-torn Syria, free from the Islamic State group, would help the return of 1.7 million refugees.

"The clearance of those regions and the creation of a safe zone there will lay the ground for 1.7 citizens here to return home," Erdogan told reporters at an airport in Ankara.