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.
