... at least 50. And in January 2021, a
car bombing
in the same Afrin region claimed the lives of six civilians and wounded about 25 others. No one has taken responsibility for the attack, but Ankara blamed the YPG for the explosion.
Neither Turkey’s NATO allies nor most EU countries, which included the PKK in their terrorist lists, had any doubts about its terrorist component. But Ankara’s partners have been less consistent with the PKK affiliates of the KCK. Washington has chosen the Syrian branch of the PKK, the PYD, and its combat wing, the YPG, as its priority ally in the fight against the IS terrorists (an organization recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia). This, however, did not happen immediately as the Pentagon and ...
... expanding its membership to the borders of Russia. In its April 2018 Bucharest Declaration, members concurred that the alliance “welcomes Ukraine’s and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership ... [and] these countries will become members of NATO.” [
28
]
On war in Syria, regime change in Libya, and Kosovo’s independence
Cohen writes that a U.S.-Russia détente also died in Syria, where the two largely failed to cooperate to defeat Islamist extremist forces. And while some American politicians (such as Hillary ...
... order was complete. The takeover of Crimea and support for separatism in Donbass did not presage a policy of reconquering Eastern Europe, as many in the West feared, but it clearly set Ukraine and other former Soviet republics off limits to any future NATO enlargement. The security buffer was back. If the use of force in Ukraine, from the Kremlin’s standpoint, was essentially defensive, Russia’s intervention in Syria in 2015 was a risky gambit to decide geopolitical outcomes in the Middle East — a famously treacherous area for outsiders vacated by the Soviet Union at the time of the Persian Gulf war of 1991. Since then, the results of the military operation ...
... negotiating table. Having said that, Macron’s logic perfectly fits the Trumpean world order in which no one relies on the West anymore.
Amongst those who longer rely on the West, and particularly the United States, is undoubtedly Turkey, still a member of NATO. The country disrespected international norms and laws and
initiated
active hostilities on the northern border of Syria. Turkey’s explicit violations were not shackled completely, but with the latest
engagement
of U.S. and Russia, they were temporarily stopped from escalating. Back in the day, Turkey would never act against American interests in the region. Still,...
... sanctions will be much more difficult than changing or rescinding the executive order. After the aggravation of the situation in Syria, a whole scattering of resolutions and bills appeared in Congress. On October 11, a resolution criticising the position ... ... drafted by Democrat Eliot Engel, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair. A similar joint resolution was proposed by Democratic Senator Robert Menendez. Turkey’s unprovoked invasion is described in a resolution proposed by Republican Senator Mitch McConnell....
Interconnectedness of Turkey with Europe and USA may be of good utility for Russian global foreign policy
With ongoing debates on Russian-made S-400 deliveries to Turkey, fate of continuing cooperation of Russia, Turkey and Iran in Syria and future of Ankara’s relations with the European Union and NATO, it is high time to make an honest review of Russian-Turkish relations, define weaknesses of bilateral cooperation and try to sketch a framework for a better future. Inspection of historical legacy and nature of current ties may be of big value for ...
... it. Moreover, Turkey is even helping Saudi Arabia train its armed forces. However, for now it is hard to imagine an alliance in which one of these countries would accept a role as second in command. For this reason, US plans to establish some form of NATO in the Middle East are doomed to failure. Eventually I don’t see any streamlined collective security system in the Middle East.
The main goal today is to end the conflict in Syria and embark on economic recovery there. Russia will not be able to do this single-handedly but from the viewpoint of the future this is very important. Syria has always been at the crossroads of trade in the Middle East. Now it is necessary for everything ...
... should have a written document presupposing that Ukraine never becomes a part of NATO, and that NATO (or the EU, or individual NATO-countries) will not build up Ukraine with heavy military (tanks, artillery, combat air craft). In other words, Ukraine could ... ... hear about that). And the Skripal case. All these are secondary and solvable, issues, once the above hard-points are solved.
Syria
Andrey Kortunov:
Russia: the Power Broker in the Middle East?
If it is at all possible to speak of any “winner” in ...
... member, despite the fact that Washington and Ankara have harbored mounting mutual grudges ever since the 2003 war in Iraq [
18
].
Relations between the U.S. and Turkey had a direct impact on the rhetoric of the two countries and their actions within NATO, including in terms of the presence of nuclear weapons in Turkey. Tensions began to mount with the onset of the Syrian crisis and the increasing rift between Washington and Ankara with regard to the approaches of the two countries in fighting DAESH. Turkey, for one, was unhappy with the U.S. support for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are dominated by ...
... Maintaining routes through which countries can talk frankly with each other — both at a political and operational level — is most important when their relations are at their worst.
Reliable communication channels between the military forces of Russia and NATO have also become more vital now that they are facing off against each other more frequently. The hot line between the US and Russia in Syria is a good example in this regard. The UK and Russia recently agreed to renew and improve their Incidents at Sea Agreement, and this might be used as a model for new ‘Incidents in the Air’ agreements to reduce the risks of dangerous manoeuvres ...
