TODAY.AZ / Analytics

Turkey looking for new ally in Syria

08 October 2014 [13:35] - TODAY.AZ
By Rufiz Hafizoglu
Though the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stated that his country will do its utmost to defend the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane from the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization, one can say the town has entirely fallen under the control of the IS.
Each day thousands of people enter Turkey from Kobane due to the clashes between the Kurds and the IS.
Currently, there are 130,000 Kurdish refugees from Kobane in Turkey, and the total number of Syrian refugees in this country stands at half a million.
Earlier, Turkey deployed a large number of military equipment to the Syrian border. This took place after Davutoglu's statement on protecting the Kurds, as well as adoption of a mandate on Oct. 2 by the country's parliament authorizing the army to participate in military operations in Syria and Iraq.
However, despite the fact that this step by Turkey was seen as "a signal of war", the Turkish soldiers didn't cross the country's borders. And the non-involvement of Turkey in Kobane's protection was perceived ambiguously within the country.
At the same time, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a terrorist organization commonly known as the PKK, saw this "composure" of Turkey as a chance.
The PKK supporters accused Turkey of deliberately creating conditions for destruction of the Kurds. Some sources even said there were clashes in the Adana province between the PKK supporters and 500 local Salafis.
At an early stage this does not pose any danger for Turkey, but this incident will not bring anything good to the country in the future. At least because this can be an initial stage in some forces' attempt to somehow transfer the Syrian conflict to Turkey.
The real reason behind Turkey's lack of serious steps is the presence of PKK's political wing in Syria, as well as the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which has not until now provided any support to the Syrian opposition.
One way or another, while crossing the border, the Turkish army will have to fight against the IS or the PYD. And the war against the PYD can seriously damage the peace process with the Kurds, launched by the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Currently, the maintenance of internal stability and creation of a buffer zone in Syria are the most important tasks for Turkey.
Temporary winner and fight against IS
Paying the main attention to the terrorist groups, rather than the Syrian government, was one of the changes amid continuing military operations against the IS.
While examining the events thoroughly, one can say with full confidence that though temporarily the Syrian government became a winner in this issue. Many political experts say that it is impossible to achieve significant progress in the fight against terrorist groups without Iran and Syria.
One of the missed points is that though the IS existed in Syria earlier, despite this the country's government does not conduct any operations against this terrorist organization. On the contrary, despite their existence, the Syrian government conducts military operations against the Free Syrian Army.
And this shows that as opposed to the Free Syrian Army, a "pilot project" - IS has never posed a real danger to the Syrian government.
While observing the processes in Syria and Iraq carefully, it is obvious that they pose the main and great threat not only to the regional countries but also to Ankara. One of the most interesting points is that Turkey, avoiding a military conflict, is gradually drawn into the Syrian "swamp".
Ankara's representatives are well aware that sooner or later the Turkish army will be forced to participate in military operations against Assad's government or the IS.
And this will force Ankara to seek a new ally in Syria, along with the Free Syrian Army. The Democratic Unity Party is expected to be a new ally in the face of the Kurds. It is also stressed that Ankara has taken significant actions for this.
It was also reported that the Democratic Unity Party leader Salih Muslim visited Turkey last week and met with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. At the meeting the Democratic Unity Party urged to cease relations with the Syrian government and become allies with the Free Syrian Army.
No matter how fully the ethnic, national and religious composition of Turkey would be estimated, this can be also used for extending the Syrian conflict and appearing new "players" in the region, and thus, against Turkey.


/AzerNews/
URL: http://www.today.az/news/analytics/136895.html

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