Will Erdogan's plans for northern Syria be realized?
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may keep everyone guessing about his next move in Syria, but it is not certain if he has clear plans himself.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s failure to meet Donald Trump during the United Nations General Assembly raises the question of whether Ankara will order the Turkish army into northeastern Syria.
Erdogan indicated in late August that Ankara would launch an operation by the end of September to establish the “safe zone” it wants east of the Euphrates River if it can’t agree with Washington on the details of this zone.
Turkey and the United States agreed in principle in early August on the need for a security zone in northeastern Syria but remain far apart on specifics.
The region where Ankara wants to set up the zone is currently controlled by the US-backed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). Ankara argues that it needs control of this zone to secure its borders against the YPG, which it says is a terrorist organization that threatens Turkey.
