Yes, I suppose a group that uses women as sex slaves, likes to burn people alive and throw gay men off buildings aren't to be considered ethical. Who'd have thunk it?
Turkey - the country not the bird
- Thread starter robert99
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Yes, I suppose a group that uses women as sex slaves, likes to burn people alive and throw gay men off buildings aren't to be considered ethical. Who'd have thunk it?
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http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/220820162
Hundreds of fighters with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) are reportedly readying to assault the Islamic State (ISIS) held town of Jarablus on Syria’s northwestern border from Turkish territory with Ankara's support.
“The factions are gathering in an area near the (Turkey-Syria) border,” an FSA official said on Sunday.
“Every day there are groups of fighters entering from inside Syria across a secret crossing to a Turkish base where they are gathering in preparation of the assault on Jarablus,” another FSA source told Reuters.
One of the sources said that the FSA groups are gathering near the Turkish town of Qarqamish, just across the border from Jarablus.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/22082016
Turkish FM vows to ‘wipe out’ all of Turkey’s enemies
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned that Ankara will wipe out the Gulen movement, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Islamic State (ISIS), cleansing them from Turkey and beyond.
“We will fight against them both in Turkish territories, and in Iraq and Syria where they live, and anywhere, even in Iran,” Cavusoglu vowed.
Hundreds of fighters with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) are reportedly readying to assault the Islamic State (ISIS) held town of Jarablus on Syria’s northwestern border from Turkish territory with Ankara's support.
“The factions are gathering in an area near the (Turkey-Syria) border,” an FSA official said on Sunday.
“Every day there are groups of fighters entering from inside Syria across a secret crossing to a Turkish base where they are gathering in preparation of the assault on Jarablus,” another FSA source told Reuters.
One of the sources said that the FSA groups are gathering near the Turkish town of Qarqamish, just across the border from Jarablus.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/22082016
Turkish FM vows to ‘wipe out’ all of Turkey’s enemies
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned that Ankara will wipe out the Gulen movement, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Islamic State (ISIS), cleansing them from Turkey and beyond.
“We will fight against them both in Turkish territories, and in Iraq and Syria where they live, and anywhere, even in Iran,” Cavusoglu vowed.
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Turkey recalls ambassador to Austria as row deepens
Turkey recalls ambassador to Austria as row deepens | News | DW.COM | 22.08.2016
Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Austria amid a growing spat between the two countries, state-run "Anatolia News Agency" reported on Monday.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused Austria at a press conference of being a center of racism and Islamophobia that supports Kurdish terrorist groups, adding Turkey would "review its relations" with Austria.
(Seems like we're back to pre-WW1 times ...
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Turkey recalls ambassador to Austria as row deepens | News | DW.COM | 22.08.2016
Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Austria amid a growing spat between the two countries, state-run "Anatolia News Agency" reported on Monday.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused Austria at a press conference of being a center of racism and Islamophobia that supports Kurdish terrorist groups, adding Turkey would "review its relations" with Austria.
(Seems like we're back to pre-WW1 times ...
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Turkey seems now to be on the Assad/Russia/Iran side to stop IS and the Kurds in Syria. Erdogan will then have some leverage over Assad.
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Turkey begins anti-IS campaign in Syria - BBC News
PressTV-Turkish special forces enter Syria
The Turkish military has launched an operation to clear the Syrian border town of Jarablus of so-called Islamic State (IS) militants, officials say.
Turkish special forces inside Syria were supported by Turkish and US-led coalition air strikes, the government said. The operation comes as Syrian rebels prepare to launch an assault on the town from Turkish territory.
Turkey's backing of a Syrian rebel assault on Jarablus, to be launched from its territory, is also seen as an attempt to prevent the town falling into the hands of Syrian Kurdish forces.
In recent days the Turkish military has shelled positions belonging to the Kurdish YPG militia, apparently to deter them from taking Jarablus themselves.
PressTV-Turkish special forces enter Syria
The Turkish military has launched an operation to clear the Syrian border town of Jarablus of so-called Islamic State (IS) militants, officials say.
Turkish special forces inside Syria were supported by Turkish and US-led coalition air strikes, the government said. The operation comes as Syrian rebels prepare to launch an assault on the town from Turkish territory.
Turkey's backing of a Syrian rebel assault on Jarablus, to be launched from its territory, is also seen as an attempt to prevent the town falling into the hands of Syrian Kurdish forces.
In recent days the Turkish military has shelled positions belonging to the Kurdish YPG militia, apparently to deter them from taking Jarablus themselves.
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PressTV-Turkey requests Gulen's extradition: US
Turkey has formally requested that the United States extraditie Pennsylvania-based opposition figure Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of orchestrating last month’s failed coup, the US State Department says.
"We can confirm now that Turkey has requested the extradition of Mr. Gulen. But I wouldn't characterize the request as relating to the coup attempt," Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday in Washington, DC.
"We have received a formal extradition request, just not one pertaining to the coup attempt," said Toner, who did not elaborate on the dossier submitted by Ankara.
Turkey has formally requested that the United States extraditie Pennsylvania-based opposition figure Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of orchestrating last month’s failed coup, the US State Department says.
"We can confirm now that Turkey has requested the extradition of Mr. Gulen. But I wouldn't characterize the request as relating to the coup attempt," Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday in Washington, DC.
"We have received a formal extradition request, just not one pertaining to the coup attempt," said Toner, who did not elaborate on the dossier submitted by Ankara.
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http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/240820162
The war against the Islamic State (ISIS), the battle for Mosul and economic and trade ties between Erbil and Ankara were the main topics of Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani’s meeting with his Turkish counterpart in Turkey, said a statement from the Kurdish presidency on Wednesday.
Barzani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke Tuesday about broadening the relations between Erbil and Ankara, especially trade ties and the joint efforts to combat the threat of terrorism such as ISIS in Iraq and Syria which has recently changed its tactics of warfare.
Barzani’s visit to Turkey came just days after Ankara and Moscow mended their ties and a visit by Iran’s foreign minister to the Turkish capital to seek a “political settlement for Syria” after five years of civil war in that country.
(The Kurds trying to keep in the loop of what Turkey is up to)
The war against the Islamic State (ISIS), the battle for Mosul and economic and trade ties between Erbil and Ankara were the main topics of Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani’s meeting with his Turkish counterpart in Turkey, said a statement from the Kurdish presidency on Wednesday.
Barzani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke Tuesday about broadening the relations between Erbil and Ankara, especially trade ties and the joint efforts to combat the threat of terrorism such as ISIS in Iraq and Syria which has recently changed its tactics of warfare.
Barzani’s visit to Turkey came just days after Ankara and Moscow mended their ties and a visit by Iran’s foreign minister to the Turkish capital to seek a “political settlement for Syria” after five years of civil war in that country.
(The Kurds trying to keep in the loop of what Turkey is up to)
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... and the Turks roll into Syria - PressTV-Turkish special forces enter Syria
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/New...ition-launch-operation-in-northern-Syria.html
Syria Jarablus: Turkish tanks roll into northern Syria - BBC News
An unnamed senior US official in Washington told BBC News before the start of the Turkish operation that it was "partly to create a buffer against the possibility of the Kurds moving forward".
"We are working with them on that potential operation: our advisers are communicating with them on the Jarablus plan.
"We'll give close air support if there's an operation."
and in the middle of this, Biden turns up - US Vice-President Joe Biden arrived in Turkey on Wednesday in the highest-ranking visit by a Western official since the failed coup on 15 July.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/New...ition-launch-operation-in-northern-Syria.html
Syria Jarablus: Turkish tanks roll into northern Syria - BBC News
An unnamed senior US official in Washington told BBC News before the start of the Turkish operation that it was "partly to create a buffer against the possibility of the Kurds moving forward".
"We are working with them on that potential operation: our advisers are communicating with them on the Jarablus plan.
"We'll give close air support if there's an operation."
and in the middle of this, Biden turns up - US Vice-President Joe Biden arrived in Turkey on Wednesday in the highest-ranking visit by a Western official since the failed coup on 15 July.
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http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/240820163
The goal of Turkey’s offensive in Jarablus is to cleanse the border of “all terrorist elements, including Daesh and YPG,” tweeted Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin on Wednesday.
Turkey is backing the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the offensive and supporting it with both ground and air support.
By Wednesday afternoon, as Biden and Yildirim held their press conference, the FSA had reached the centre of Jarablus, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.
Turkish F-16s joined by international coalition jets hit ISIS vehicles coming from the al-Bab area to provide backup for militants in Jarablus while Turkish tanks blocked ISIS supply routes in Syrian territory, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
Damascus condemned the Turkish incursion on its territory, calling it a breach of sovereignty and accused Ankara of “replacing one type of terrorism with another,” Syria’s state media SANA reported, citing an official source within the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry.
The leader of the YPG's political wing, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Salih Muslim, warned that Turkey will be defeated in Syria along with the Islamic State, shortly after Ankara began its operation against ISIS in the border town of Jarablus.
“Turkey is in Syrian Quagmire. will be defeated as Daish (ISIS),” Muslim tweeted.
The goal of Turkey’s offensive in Jarablus is to cleanse the border of “all terrorist elements, including Daesh and YPG,” tweeted Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin on Wednesday.
Turkey is backing the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the offensive and supporting it with both ground and air support.
By Wednesday afternoon, as Biden and Yildirim held their press conference, the FSA had reached the centre of Jarablus, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.
Turkish F-16s joined by international coalition jets hit ISIS vehicles coming from the al-Bab area to provide backup for militants in Jarablus while Turkish tanks blocked ISIS supply routes in Syrian territory, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
Damascus condemned the Turkish incursion on its territory, calling it a breach of sovereignty and accused Ankara of “replacing one type of terrorism with another,” Syria’s state media SANA reported, citing an official source within the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry.
The leader of the YPG's political wing, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Salih Muslim, warned that Turkey will be defeated in Syria along with the Islamic State, shortly after Ankara began its operation against ISIS in the border town of Jarablus.
“Turkey is in Syrian Quagmire. will be defeated as Daish (ISIS),” Muslim tweeted.
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Joe says you have to go -
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/240820163
The Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) will lose American support if they do not retreat to east of the Euphrates.
Kurdish forces “must move back across the Euphrates River,” Biden said. “They cannot, will not, under any circumstance get American support if they do not keep that commitment.”
Yildirim, speaking at the same press conference, said that Turkey will not allow Kurdish advancements along its border.
The Kurds say we aint going -
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/240820164
Kurdish forces have refused to withdraw from areas west of the Euphrates River, a spokesperson said Wednesday, saying that Turkey cannot impose its agenda on the Kurds in northern Syria.
“The Turkish intervention in Jarablus is a hostile intervention. Its main goal, more than ISIS, is the Kurds,” said Redur Xelil, spokesperson for the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG).
“Our forces are part of the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] and we insist on our mission and goal. We won’t listen to the demands of Turkey or powers outside of Turkey. Turkey cannot impose its own agenda, its own interests on us. Our forces are there. We will not withdraw from west of the Euphrates. No one has the right to ask the YPG to leave the area.”
(US and Turkey seem to be on the same page now - not allowing Kurdish expansion in Syria. I can see the US walking away from this, like they did when the Kurds revolted against Saddam in Iraq in 1991, after the elections)
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/240820163
The Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) will lose American support if they do not retreat to east of the Euphrates.
Kurdish forces “must move back across the Euphrates River,” Biden said. “They cannot, will not, under any circumstance get American support if they do not keep that commitment.”
Yildirim, speaking at the same press conference, said that Turkey will not allow Kurdish advancements along its border.
The Kurds say we aint going -
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/240820164
Kurdish forces have refused to withdraw from areas west of the Euphrates River, a spokesperson said Wednesday, saying that Turkey cannot impose its agenda on the Kurds in northern Syria.
“The Turkish intervention in Jarablus is a hostile intervention. Its main goal, more than ISIS, is the Kurds,” said Redur Xelil, spokesperson for the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG).
“Our forces are part of the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] and we insist on our mission and goal. We won’t listen to the demands of Turkey or powers outside of Turkey. Turkey cannot impose its own agenda, its own interests on us. Our forces are there. We will not withdraw from west of the Euphrates. No one has the right to ask the YPG to leave the area.”
(US and Turkey seem to be on the same page now - not allowing Kurdish expansion in Syria. I can see the US walking away from this, like they did when the Kurds revolted against Saddam in Iraq in 1991, after the elections)
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Turkey is now in Syria and this is what it means for the Middle East
Nice summing up of the situation together with a musing on TE Lawrence.
Nice summing up of the situation together with a musing on TE Lawrence.
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http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/250820162
US Secretary of State John Kerry reassured Turkey on Thursday that Syrian Kurdish forces are withdrawing to the east bank of the Euphrates River, while the Turkish military increased its numbers in northern Syria a day after launching an operation which ousted Islamic State (ISIS) militants from the Syrian border town of Jarablus.
The spokesperson for the US military’s anti-ISIS operation, Operation Inherent Resolve, confirmed on Twitter that the Kurdish forces, as part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), were withdrawing to focus on the liberation of Raqqa, ISIS’ de facto capital in Syria.
The Americans’ demand, therefore, that the Kurds retreat has led to questions about whether the US is abandoning the Kurds in favour of Ankara.
This was put to Elizabeth Trudeau, Department of State spokesperson, during the department’s daily press briefing on Wednesday.
“I would dispute views that they feel – that they’re being abandoned. We have been very clear on our support. These have been tremendous fighters against our common enemy, which is Daesh [ISIS], on this,” Trudeau answered. “As I’ve said, we remain in close contact with both the Turks as well as local Kurdish commanders on this. It’s a complex issue. It’s a fast-moving issue.”
She went on to stress that state department officials had been working to redirect the focus of both Turkey and the Kurds way from “this infighting” and back to the fight against “the common enemy, which is Daesh.”
US Secretary of State John Kerry reassured Turkey on Thursday that Syrian Kurdish forces are withdrawing to the east bank of the Euphrates River, while the Turkish military increased its numbers in northern Syria a day after launching an operation which ousted Islamic State (ISIS) militants from the Syrian border town of Jarablus.
The spokesperson for the US military’s anti-ISIS operation, Operation Inherent Resolve, confirmed on Twitter that the Kurdish forces, as part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), were withdrawing to focus on the liberation of Raqqa, ISIS’ de facto capital in Syria.
The Americans’ demand, therefore, that the Kurds retreat has led to questions about whether the US is abandoning the Kurds in favour of Ankara.
This was put to Elizabeth Trudeau, Department of State spokesperson, during the department’s daily press briefing on Wednesday.
“I would dispute views that they feel – that they’re being abandoned. We have been very clear on our support. These have been tremendous fighters against our common enemy, which is Daesh [ISIS], on this,” Trudeau answered. “As I’ve said, we remain in close contact with both the Turks as well as local Kurdish commanders on this. It’s a complex issue. It’s a fast-moving issue.”
She went on to stress that state department officials had been working to redirect the focus of both Turkey and the Kurds way from “this infighting” and back to the fight against “the common enemy, which is Daesh.”
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Turkey shells Kurdish militia in Syria | News | DW.COM | 26.08.2016
Turkey is expanding its ground offensive. Turkey's push into Syria was announced to push back the self-styled "Islamic State" but also appear intent on blocking Kurdish gains.
(So the US, NATO backed Kurds get shelled by NATO member and US ally Turkey ...
No wonder the Germans want to get their planes back )
Turkey is expanding its ground offensive. Turkey's push into Syria was announced to push back the self-styled "Islamic State" but also appear intent on blocking Kurdish gains.
(So the US, NATO backed Kurds get shelled by NATO member and US ally Turkey ...
No wonder the Germans want to get their planes back )
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"the clean global coalition against terror"
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/260820163
Bashar Jaafari, Syria’s envoy to the United Nations (UN), described Turkey’s military incursion into Syria as a “violation of Syria’s sovereignty,” and he accused Turkey of being first “in sponsoring terrorism in Syria with Gulf funding,” according to CNN Arabic, on Friday.
He stressed that “Those want to help Syria in the war on terror, should coordinate with the Syrian Arab Army and exchange information on terrorists and join the clean global coalition against terror.”
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi also urged coordination with the Syrian government.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/260820163
Bashar Jaafari, Syria’s envoy to the United Nations (UN), described Turkey’s military incursion into Syria as a “violation of Syria’s sovereignty,” and he accused Turkey of being first “in sponsoring terrorism in Syria with Gulf funding,” according to CNN Arabic, on Friday.
He stressed that “Those want to help Syria in the war on terror, should coordinate with the Syrian Arab Army and exchange information on terrorists and join the clean global coalition against terror.”
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi also urged coordination with the Syrian government.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/27/world/middleeast/syria-civil-war-why-get-worse.html
According to a 2015 paper by Professor Walter and Kenneth M. Pollack, a Middle East expert, “Outright military victory in a civil war often comes at the price of horrific (even genocidal) levels of violence against the defeated, including their civilian populations.”
This could bring entirely new conflicts to the Middle East, they found: “Victorious groups in a civil war sometimes also try to employ their newfound strength against neighboring states, resulting in interstate wars.”
This is not a drift that anyone wants, but it is the direction that Syria’s many domestic and foreign participants are pulling the country, whose darkest days may still be ahead.
(This is what I fear will happen to the Kurds when the US drops it's support)
According to a 2015 paper by Professor Walter and Kenneth M. Pollack, a Middle East expert, “Outright military victory in a civil war often comes at the price of horrific (even genocidal) levels of violence against the defeated, including their civilian populations.”
This could bring entirely new conflicts to the Middle East, they found: “Victorious groups in a civil war sometimes also try to employ their newfound strength against neighboring states, resulting in interstate wars.”
This is not a drift that anyone wants, but it is the direction that Syria’s many domestic and foreign participants are pulling the country, whose darkest days may still be ahead.
(This is what I fear will happen to the Kurds when the US drops it's support)
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Syrian war: Turkey suffers first death in cross-border campaign - BBC News
Turkey has suffered its first loss of life in an intensifying campaign in northern Syria, the military says.
A soldier was killed when Kurdish fighters fired on tanks. Kurdish media say three tanks were destroyed.
Saturday saw clashes between Turkish tanks and Kurdish forces near Jarablus, a border town Turkey helped Syrian rebels recapture from IS on Wednesday.
Turkish planes bombarded positions south of the town, in what one group allied with Kurdish rebels called a "dangerous escalation". Three other soldiers were wounded in the clash with Kurdish fighters.
Turkey has suffered its first loss of life in an intensifying campaign in northern Syria, the military says.
A soldier was killed when Kurdish fighters fired on tanks. Kurdish media say three tanks were destroyed.
Saturday saw clashes between Turkish tanks and Kurdish forces near Jarablus, a border town Turkey helped Syrian rebels recapture from IS on Wednesday.
Turkish planes bombarded positions south of the town, in what one group allied with Kurdish rebels called a "dangerous escalation". Three other soldiers were wounded in the clash with Kurdish fighters.
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http://english.alarabiya.net/en/New...nes-artillery-hit-targets-in-north-Syria.html
Turkey-backed Syrian rebels seized a number of villages and towns from Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria on Sunday amid Turkish airstrikes and shelling that killed at least 35 people according to rebels and a monitoring group.
Syria war: Turkey kills 25 people in latest round of air strikes - BBC News
Ankara wants to force the Kurds to withdraw to the east of Euphrates River, stopping short of establishing a corridor to link two Kurdish-led areas in north-western Syria.
Turkey enjoys tacit support from Russia, the Assad government and Iran in acting to prevent further territorial gains by the Kurds and their allies. The US, on the other side, has said it will try to prevent Turkey coming into conflict with its allies in the region.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/280820165
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the deaths of at least 40 civilians in villages south of Jarablus as well as the deaths of at least four YPG.
The YPG have not confirmed any casualties among their ranks but they report the deaths of tens of civilians in Turkish airstrikes in Bir Alkosa village, 13 kilometres south of Jarablus.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that at least 20 civilians were killed in Turkish airstrikes and artillery fire in Jeb el-Kussa on Sunday and another 20 were killed in airstrikes on al-Amarneh. Approximately 75 civilians were wounded in the two villages, many seriously.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, however, Turkey’s offensive has so far focused largely on the Kurds as the Turkish army and allied forces push south into areas that were recently liberated by the SDF with the goal of reaching Manbij, a city that was a key staging point for militants and supplies entering ISIS-controlled territory from Turkey until the SDF recaptured it on August 12, defeating ISIS after a bitter two and a half months-long campaign.
Turkey-backed Syrian rebels seized a number of villages and towns from Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria on Sunday amid Turkish airstrikes and shelling that killed at least 35 people according to rebels and a monitoring group.
Syria war: Turkey kills 25 people in latest round of air strikes - BBC News
Ankara wants to force the Kurds to withdraw to the east of Euphrates River, stopping short of establishing a corridor to link two Kurdish-led areas in north-western Syria.
Turkey enjoys tacit support from Russia, the Assad government and Iran in acting to prevent further territorial gains by the Kurds and their allies. The US, on the other side, has said it will try to prevent Turkey coming into conflict with its allies in the region.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/280820165
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the deaths of at least 40 civilians in villages south of Jarablus as well as the deaths of at least four YPG.
The YPG have not confirmed any casualties among their ranks but they report the deaths of tens of civilians in Turkish airstrikes in Bir Alkosa village, 13 kilometres south of Jarablus.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that at least 20 civilians were killed in Turkish airstrikes and artillery fire in Jeb el-Kussa on Sunday and another 20 were killed in airstrikes on al-Amarneh. Approximately 75 civilians were wounded in the two villages, many seriously.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, however, Turkey’s offensive has so far focused largely on the Kurds as the Turkish army and allied forces push south into areas that were recently liberated by the SDF with the goal of reaching Manbij, a city that was a key staging point for militants and supplies entering ISIS-controlled territory from Turkey until the SDF recaptured it on August 12, defeating ISIS after a bitter two and a half months-long campaign.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/29/world/middleeast/syrian-rebels-isis-kurds-turkey.html?ref=world
The most powerful Syrian Kurdish party is reeling from what its supporters see as an American betrayal after the United States gave the green light for Turkey to send tanks and allied rebels into Syria last week.
Turkey sees a chance to curb the growing power of the Syrian Kurdish party, which it says is indistinguishable from the P.K.K., a Kurdish insurgent group that Turkey is battling at home and considers a terrorist organization. But Turkey is also in the midst of a delicate partial rapprochement with the Syrian government’s main ally, Russia, which is watching to see how far Turkey will go in backing the rebels trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
All of that is happening as Russia and the United States seek, without success so far, to lay out parameters for joint military action against extremist groups, including the Islamic State, and a road map to a political transition in Syria in a bid to end the war.
The most powerful Syrian Kurdish party is reeling from what its supporters see as an American betrayal after the United States gave the green light for Turkey to send tanks and allied rebels into Syria last week.
Turkey sees a chance to curb the growing power of the Syrian Kurdish party, which it says is indistinguishable from the P.K.K., a Kurdish insurgent group that Turkey is battling at home and considers a terrorist organization. But Turkey is also in the midst of a delicate partial rapprochement with the Syrian government’s main ally, Russia, which is watching to see how far Turkey will go in backing the rebels trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
All of that is happening as Russia and the United States seek, without success so far, to lay out parameters for joint military action against extremist groups, including the Islamic State, and a road map to a political transition in Syria in a bid to end the war.
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http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/29082016
A Complicated Triangle: Russia, Turkey and the Syrian Kurds
“Given the Russian military presence in Syria, Turkey could do little to change what it perceived as a negative trend for its interests. So the rapprochement was instrumental in helping to change this. For the first time since Russians deployed the S-400 (advanced anti-aircraft missile) system in November 2015, Turkish jets were able to fly in Syrian air space to carry out strikes,” Suchkov explained.
Akhmetov believes Russia willingly allowed this operation because it is "awaiting something from Turkey" in return.
“We should understand that Russia compromised with Turkey by allowing it to cross the border. Russia understands that incursion is an important measure for Turkey in terms of its national security. So it means that Russia is awaiting something from Turkey, since Russia is a realist player which doesn't compromise without being sure of getting something in return,” he explained.
Suchkov also pointed out that, “both Damascus and Tehran signaled their tacit agreement to these actions as well, since the Kurdish issue is something that tactically unites the states who are, in other circumstances, regional rivals.”
“The US factor in light of Joe Biden's visit to Turkey is also interesting. The perception in Russia is that Moscow is now acting as an intermediary between Ankara and Damascus while Washington mediates between Ankara and Kurds,” he added.
A Complicated Triangle: Russia, Turkey and the Syrian Kurds
“Given the Russian military presence in Syria, Turkey could do little to change what it perceived as a negative trend for its interests. So the rapprochement was instrumental in helping to change this. For the first time since Russians deployed the S-400 (advanced anti-aircraft missile) system in November 2015, Turkish jets were able to fly in Syrian air space to carry out strikes,” Suchkov explained.
Akhmetov believes Russia willingly allowed this operation because it is "awaiting something from Turkey" in return.
“We should understand that Russia compromised with Turkey by allowing it to cross the border. Russia understands that incursion is an important measure for Turkey in terms of its national security. So it means that Russia is awaiting something from Turkey, since Russia is a realist player which doesn't compromise without being sure of getting something in return,” he explained.
Suchkov also pointed out that, “both Damascus and Tehran signaled their tacit agreement to these actions as well, since the Kurdish issue is something that tactically unites the states who are, in other circumstances, regional rivals.”
“The US factor in light of Joe Biden's visit to Turkey is also interesting. The perception in Russia is that Moscow is now acting as an intermediary between Ankara and Damascus while Washington mediates between Ankara and Kurds,” he added.
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As Turkey was getting ready to go into Syria ...
23 Turkish soldiers killed near Iraqi border - Iraqi News
A PKK official statement, received by Iraqi News, said, “Armed men from the wing attacked the Turkish army and killed 23 army-men. In total three attacks were carried out and these were made when Turkish Army carried out an operation at Hmazinan, a border area situated near the Iraqi border.”
It may be mentioned here that the attacks were launched on Saturday, August 27, last and the Turkish media ‘skipped’ the news and published no information, whatsoever, about these.
23 Turkish soldiers killed near Iraqi border - Iraqi News
A PKK official statement, received by Iraqi News, said, “Armed men from the wing attacked the Turkish army and killed 23 army-men. In total three attacks were carried out and these were made when Turkish Army carried out an operation at Hmazinan, a border area situated near the Iraqi border.”
It may be mentioned here that the attacks were launched on Saturday, August 27, last and the Turkish media ‘skipped’ the news and published no information, whatsoever, about these.
