Turkey and the United States have concluded their first joint ground patrols along the Syrian-Turkish border to establish a recently agreed "safe zone," the Daily Sabah reported Sept. 8. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the joint patrols were insufficient to address the countries' current disagreements and that Ankara would take unilateral measures to safeguard its interests if the safe zone is not in place by the end of September.