Since the beginning of the war against Syria, Turkey has served as a rear base for mercenaries. In 2013, part of the border was erased and the Turkish government directly administered the Turkmen population of northern Syria. In March 2014, the Turkish army penetrated into Syrian territory and took the Armenian town of Kassab.

However, in mid-June 2014, while the ISIL waded deeper into Iraqi territory and the autonomous government of Kurdistan called for its independence, Turkey closed part of its border to prevent a backflow of Al-Nusra Front and Army of Islam mercenaries [1].

At the same time, the United States re-established dialogue with Syria at a meeting in Oslo with Syrian Presidency Minister Bouthaina Shaaban.

According to Stars & Stripes, NATO is now pondering how to hermetically seal the Turkish-Syrian border, in particular by deploying Alliance Ground Surveillance System (AGS) drones [2]

[1] “Did Turkish army change its strategy?”, Voltaire Network, 17 June 2014.

[2] “Europe’s fear: Turkey’s porous border serves as gateway for ISIL’s spread”, John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes, 5 July 2014.