what does turkey want in syria

For example, it recently raised eyebrows within NATO yet again by purchasing new-generation Russian S-400 anti-aircraft batteries. Rapidly changing events, a growing number of players, and constantly shifting battle lines all point to a quagmire.Just six months ago, there were two clear trends in the conflict: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with the support of Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, was well on his way to victory; and the Islamic State (ISIS) was about to be soundly defeated by a US-led coalition.

Assad has come to terms with reality and indicated that he would cede territory to the Syrian Kurds. A Turkish national swimmer will dive to break the world record in the “longest distance underwater swimming with one breath” category to draw attention to violence against women. The Eastern and Southeastern parts of Turkey are populated largely by Kurds. Some elements of the SDF have been more effective than others, and have even fought alongside the Kurds against ISIS.

Kurds sometimes demand more rights or justice against a past wrongdoing of the government or a current policy that they deem discriminating. In fact, the US may already have The US and its European partners have been reluctant to come down hard on their NATO ally Turkey, and have merely urged Turkish President Moreover, Turkey doesn’t seem to care what its allies think. In recent weeks, Israel has clashed with Iranian forces in southern Syria to show that it will not allow Iran to establish a presence there. This does not bode well for any future peace process. A €500 million ($590 million) long-term loan package with the China Development Bank (CDB) will help Turkish cellphone operator Turkcell take its business to the next level, the cellphone giant said on Aug. 10. No doubt, EU foreign ministers will be looking desperately tomorrow to Moscow waiting for a positive outcome from the Putin-Erdoğan meeting. Given that most of the Middle East is now in a state of turmoil, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson should be commended for keeping the Syrian conflict in mind during his recent trip to the region.His job hasn’t been easy. Obviously, it won’t say no to that, but what Turkey wants immediately is “strong backing” from its Western allies against Russia.Many European countries think the trouble Turkey got itself into was its own making. According to the State Department at the time, the When the US took a side against Assad seven years ago, it was asserting its national interest in Syria while ignoring the interests of other key players such as Turkey, Russia, Iran and Israel. Today, the successful campaign against ISIS seems pyrrhic, at best. News Explained: Why Turkey wants a military assault on Syrian Kurds.

But they will fault the US for not comprehending the larger war.It is already clear that the Obama administration didn’t know what it was bargaining for when, without thinking about what would come next, it called in 2011 for Assad’s removal. Copyright © 2020

If the United States is serious about addressing the increasingly deadly crisis in Syria, it needs to start showing sustained interest—and put its money where its mouth is.The complexity of the situation in Syria has far surpassed the world’s capacity to master it. As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan meets his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow on March 5, the European Union’s foreign ministers will also gather for an informal meeting in Croatia, where they will discuss the military escalation in Syria as well as the renewed refugee pressure along the Turkish-Greek border. Indeed, Turkey decided to support the dissidents against Syrian President Bashar al-Despite warnings from its Western allies not to trust Moscow and Tehran, Ankara went ahead and signed the Sochi agreement with Iran and Russia amid its frustration at the West’s inaction in helping end the civil war or easing Turkey’s refugee burden.Now, it is seeking the help of its Western allies against Russia for an agreement its allies were not very warm on from the beginning.Indeed, what is the role of Idlib in the big picture? With the stakes in Syria rising fast, one can only wonder where America stands.The Strategist — The Australian Strategic Policy Institute Blog.