Defense Secretary Mark Esper telephoned his Turkish counterpart on July 29 for the first time since formally taking the Pentagon’s helm, and the call did not go well. According to the Turkish read-out of the phone call, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar demanded that the United States grant Turkey a buffer-zone in northern Syria extending 20 miles into the country.

Turkey justifies its demand in the accusation that it alone can provide security and that Kurdish-controlled regions in northern Syria are terrorist dens. Specifically, Turkish officials argue that the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, controls the Kurdish cantons in northern and eastern Syria.