The chances of a military operation by Turkey to establish a buffer zone on the Syrian side of the border — with the primary aim of preventing Syrian Kurds from establishing an autonomous entity in the region — have receded as the political difficulties and security risks that would be involved dawn on Ankara. Meanwhile, the alliance between the United States and fighters attached to the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the main Kurdish group in Syria, has deepened Ankara’s quandary with regard to its overall Syrian policy.

Turkey’s continued beefing-up of its military presence along the Syrian border is seen by Western diplomats — who say they have been assured that unilateral action by Turkey is not on the cards — as “posturing” rather than as preparations to invade Syria.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s government — which lost its parliamentary majority after the June 7 elections, and is acting as caretaker until a coalition government can be formed — is reportedly considering new options that include talking to the PYD and cooperating more closely than has been the case with the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS).

All of this flies in the face of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s saber rattling after Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Unit (YPG), the armed wing of the PYD, expelled IS from the northern Syrian town of Tell Abyad in June with US air support, and positioned themselves for further gains along Turkey’s border with Syria.