Following his reconciliation offer to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is trying to soften the climate with Damascus on the one side while insisting on his plan for a safe zone along the border on the other.

Speaking at a ceremony Aug. 25, Erdogan for the first time publicly outlined a safe zone that links Syria and Iraq to counter the threats that Turkey perceives from armed Kurdish groups in its two southern neighbors. “We will not stop our struggle until we secure our southern borders from end to end with a corridor extending to a depth of 30 kilometers (19 miles),” Erdogan declared, vowing that Turkey’s military operations would continue “according to its own planning.” 

His remarks seemed to also reflect anger with the conditions raised in response to his overtures to Damascus, namely that Turkey should withdraw its troops from Syria and end support for armed rebel groups in the country.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Ankara lists as a terrorist group over its nearly four-decade armed campaign in Turkey, has long maintained bases in the rugged mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan along the Turkish border and is linked to the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the armed group at the forefront of the Kurdish autonomy drive in northern Syria.