Orsam Review of Regional Affairs No.33, November 2015 Safe Zone in Northern Syria and Turkey

Oytun Orhan has been working as a researcher at ORSAM since 2009. Conducting research basically on Syria and Lebanon, Orhan has also carried out studies about Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iraq and Turkey’s Middle East policy. Having graduated from the department of International Relations, Gazi University, Orhan completed his master’s degree at the department of International Relations, Hacettepe University with thesis titled “Impact of Identity on Syria’s Regional Policies (19462000)”. Orhan continues his PhD in International Relations at the Institute of Social Sciences, Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University. The longer the Syrian crisis lasts, the more complicated the problem becomes. There are now an interwoven cycle of several wars on different fronts and in different geographies, between different actors and within the framework of changing alliances. In such an environment, Syria’s neighboring countries, notably Turkey, make efforts to minimize the security risks originating from Syria. Every country has to concentrate on the developments in their own border region. What Turkey has intensely proposed lately is the establishment of a safe zone on the border line between Azaz and Jarabulus which is under ISIS control. This study examines the reasons behind Turkey’s demand for a safe zone and how the conditions have gradually been matured to establish a safe zone. ORSAM REVIEW OF REGIONAL AFFAIRS