DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Hillary Clinton on Tuesday repeated her support for a no-fly zone over Syria, but said the Russians would need to participate in order for it to work.
“We need to be putting together a coalition to support a no-fly zone,” Clinton said at a campaign event in Davenport. “I think it’s complicated and the Russians would have to be part of it, or it wouldn’t work.”
Last week, the Democratic presidential candidate urged the White House to put more pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, a day after Russian warplanes stared bombing rebels.
Clinton, in contrast with President Barack Obama, called for the creation of a no-fly zone inside Syria, claiming it is needed to stabilize fighting and help the refugee crisis.
"We need to try to set up and enforce a no-fly zone to try to stop the outflow of refugees so people can stay at home," Clinton said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Clinton's chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, opposes a unilateral American no-fly zone in Syria, saying it could get the U.S. more deeply involved in civil war, leading to a "never-ending U.S. entanglement in that region."
On Tuesday, responding to a question from a voter, Clinton made clear that she is not inclined to support deploying ground troops to engage ISIS.
"I would not put an additional person in for actual combat," Clinton said. "First, we've got to sort it out. Our goal has to be to end the conflict, protect the people on the ground, go after ISIS, got a diplomatic solution that ends with departure" of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The Russians seem to be rejecting the proposal of a no-fly zone. According to Bloomberg, Russia's deputy foreign minister voiced his disapproval on Tuesday.
Watch Clinton's remarks on the video above.
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