(Reuters) – Turkey’s military is drawing up plans for a possible “buffer zone” on the country’s southern border, where it faces a threat from Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, Turkish media quoted President Tayyip Erdogan as saying on Monday.
The government will evaluate the plans and decide whether such a move is necessary, Turkish television stations quoted Erdogan as telling reporters on his plane as he returned from an official visit to Qatar.
A presidency official confirmed that Erdogan had made such remarks but did not specify where along the border the zone might be established and gave no further details.
Turkey, a member of the NATO military alliance, has made clear it does not want a frontline role in a military coalition which the United States is trying to assemble to fight Islamic State militants in both Iraq and Syria.