Ankara’s current policy leads it only to a direct clash with the Russian army.
This was told by the publicist Stefan Reinke in a material for the German publication Tageszeitung.
“Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened, he sent troops and tanks across the Syrian border to Idlib and issued an ultimatum, which expires in late February. Only Russian leader Vladimir Putin remained firm”, – the journalist said.
Thus, the Syrian government continued to liberate its legitimate lands from terrorist groups, and Russia did not interfere with that, contrary to Turkish demands. For Ankara, the situation is complicated by the fact that the escalation of tensions in Idlib, which was also aided by Turkish troops, entails a new flow of refugees.
“This would have turned Erdoğan into the most serious difficulties inside the country. His policy towards Syria is generally negatively perceived by Turkish society. The overwhelming majority of people generally believe that the Syrian conflict should have been kept away”, – Raineke explained, stressing that Turks are the least interested in hosting new Syrian refugees.
However, all of Erdogan’s plans in the Syrian direction have been unsuccessful. He has failed to create a security zone in Idlib, and official Damascus is seeking to liberate the region, which has become the last stronghold of militants.
“Despite all “saber” strikes, Erdogan cannot reach agreement by force. In the end, he will have to deal with the Russian military, and this will become political and military suicide”, – the author stresses.
According to him, Ankara needs external support against this background, but U.S. President Donald Trump shows that he is not burning with the desire to interfere. Thus, Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuelle Macron may come to the aid of Erdogan. The publicist stresses that they are really interested in settling the situation, because the new round of the Middle East war will bring thousands of new refugees to Europe. Reineke believes that de-escalation of tension may be facilitated by a negotiation process similar to the Norman format, but with Turkey instead of Ukraine.
“It is good that Merkel and Macron are usually ready to take part. But if they want to succeed in negotiations with Putin, they will have to pay for it”, – the author stated.
As News Front reported, earlier in Turkey they offered to sacrifice the territorial integrity of Syria for the sake of Ankara’s interests.