Turkey has loosened its rules of engagement for NATO warplanes along the border with northern Syria, according to officials. They were said to be under pressure from several NATO members, and made the change around three weeks ago.
Turkey has sought NATO support in defending their border from ISIS, but has tried to limit their crossing into Syria in the past, concerned that so much of the air support in northern Syria is supporting the Kurdish YPG, which Turkey considers terrorists.
Turkey has been trying to improve its diplomatic relations in recent weeks, with a rapprochement with Israel earlier this week, and a formal apology for shooting down a Russian warplanes along the Syrian border last year.
NATO officials say that while they’ve been informed by Turkey of the rules changes, they have yet to actually increase the number of border patrol flights. They did not indicate if they expect this to change any time soon.