Turkey won't act unilaterally in Syria, but will protect border: Presidential Spokesman


Turkey's Presidential Spokesman İbrahim Kalın said at a news conference on Tuesday that Turkey will not take unilateral action in Syria, but will act to protect its borders. He said, any security measures Turkey will take at its Syrian frontier will be entirely aimed at protecting its own border security, and it was not correct to interpret Turkey's security measures as a step towards war."To interpret our border security measures as 'Turkey is going to war'... is not very rational," Kalın said after local media carried reports that Turkey was considering the making of a buffer zone across the border, where Kurdish YPG forces and the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) vie for control. The country's top security council met on Monday and released a statement which indicated the country was concerned about developments in northern Syria. However, it did not indicate any immediate action.Turkey has long pushed for the creation of an undefined safe zone in northern Syria for rebel groups fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, but the idea has so far failed to take hold.Kalin rejected accusations, made by Kurdish groups, that Turkey has collaborated with the ISIS group.Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of Turkey's main opposition People's Republican Party (CHP), warned the government not to take military action in Syria, noting the country has yet to form a new government.