Russia Demands End To Turkey’s Efforts To Undermine Syrian Sovereignty
ZeroHedge.com
Over the past several days, Turkey has been busy putting the world on the course to World War III.
The YPG – which Ankara identifies with the “terrorist” PKK- has contributed to the Russian and Iranian effort to cut off the Azaz corridor, the last remaining supply line to the rebels fighting to oust Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
The Kurdish effort to unite territory the group holds east of the Euphrates with cities it hold west of the river in Syria has infuriated Ankara, which views the YPG advance as a kind of precursor to Kurdish independence in Turkey.
The solution, Turkey says, is a 10 km incursion into Syria, an effort which will establish a “safe zone” for those fleeing the violence that plagues the country’s besieged urban centers. That , of course, is merely an excuse for Ankara to send ground troops into the country, where the Sunni-sponsored effort to overthrow Assad is on its last legs.
The deadly bombing in Ankara that claimed the lives of several dozen people on Thursday is predictably being trotted out as an excuse to put Turkish boots on the ground in Syria. “Months ago in my meeting with him I told him the U.S. was supplying weapons. Three plane loads arrived, half of them ended up in the hands of Daesh (Islamic State), and half of them in the hands of the PYD,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday. “Against whom were these weapons used? They were used against civilians there and caused their deaths,” he added.
Obviously, that’s completely absurd. Turkey has been funneling guns and money to the Syrian opposition for years. For Ankara to accuse anyone of “supplying weapons” to the Sunni insurgents who are endangering civilians is the epitome of hypocrisy. Turkey is only angry at the US and Russia in this case because Washington and Moscow both support Kurdish elements that Ankara views as threatening to AKP and to Turkey’s territorial integrity.
At this juncture, the only way to preserve the rebellion and protect the anti-Assad cause is to insert ground troops, a move that both Ankara and Riyadh are seriously considering. The presence of Turkish and/or Saudi boots would mark a meaningful escalation and would put Sunni forces directly into battle against Iran’s powerful Shiite proxy armies, setting the stage for a disastrous sectarian battle that would forever alter the Mid-East balance of power.
On Friday, in an effort to avert an all-out global conflict, Moscow called for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss Turkey’s plans to send troops into Syria. “Turkey’s announced plans to put boots on the ground in northern Syria undercut efforts to launch a political settlement in the Syrian Arab Republic,” Maria Zakharova said, earlier today.
The announced intentions of Ankara (as well as Riyadh and Doha) are not consistent with the will of Damascus, which has only invited Russia and Iran to the fight against “the terrorists.” Everyone else – including the US, Britain, and France – are effectively trespassing.
In May of 2014, Russia and China blocked a Security Council resolution to refer the Syria conflict to the Hague. Now, we’ll get to see whether the West will protect its allies in Ankara and Riyadh, or whether someone in the international community will finally step up and say “enough is enough” when it comes to fomenting discord in Syria.