Turkish President Erdogan has again threatened to invade North and East Syria, taking Operation Peace Spring a step further by seizing the entire Syrian-Turkish border region that is governed by the AANES.
Turkey has long sought what it deems a 30 kilometer deep “safe zone” or “security zone” in North and East Syria, which would essentially lead to the occupation of all of Syria’s Kurdish-majority regions.
Despite the announcement by President Erdogan, there have not yet been significant Turkish military movements seen on the ground, and reportedly both Russia and the United States, which are ceasefire guarantors in North and East Syria in the western and eastern parts of AANES-governed territory respectively, have not given Turkey any “green light” for a new offensive. Turkey reportedly sought approval for a new offensive in October, 2021, but was not given any “green light” then either.
The announcement comes amidst international attention being focused on the conflict in Ukraine, and controversy around Turkey blocking potential NATO accession of Sweden and Finland, accusing the countries of harboring “terrorists” and demanding they lift arms embargoes that the two states placed on Turkey following the 2019 invasion of North and East Syria.
