Ankara in crosshairs

Washington and Ankara have agreed the necessary technical details of Turkey’s participation in the operation against the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS). Turkey will join the campaign of bombing the militants’ positions in the very near future, ITAR-TASS cites Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook. Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced the end of the stage of negotiations on joint activities by Washington and Ankara. He said that Turkey and the US were preparing a joint air operation against ISIS in Syria. The area in the north of Syria and territories near the Turkish border will be attacked. According to Turkey, forces of the Syrian moderate opposition will ensure the security of the area.

However, Ambassador Andrei Baklanov, advisor to the deputy chairman of Russia's Federation Council, thinks that the Turks are starting to realize that there is a fresh look at things: “Their position in regard to ISIS and Syria in recent years and months was based on their traditional priorities, and the traditional fears of the Turkish leadership related to the desire to preserve their territorial integrity, and the priority that is given to the question of what to do in order to prevent the emergence of a strong Kurdish enclave or state association. Against this background, a new phenomenon, which is called Islamic State, has been spreading more and more. Now, as we understand from conversations with Turkish representatives and from interviews with those who have met with them, the Turks and the Turkish leadership, there is a question of how to behave in view of the fact that, apparently, they begin to admit that the main danger to the region and the country is the contradictory formation called Islamic State, which, of course, is not Islamic, as I always emphasize, it is the first international major mafia association of the Western and Eastern branches of a mafia association.”

Baklanov expects that Turkey in the coming weeks “will begin the evolution of its position and analyze more carefully what a danger Islamic State represents, in particular to the security of the region and Turkey. And in regard to this evolution we suggested in particular to the Turkish representatives, along with the representatives of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt and the Gulf countries, to consider the creation of a broad regional international coalition to fight ISIS.”

“One of the main roles belongs to Turkey. Firstly, we are talking about how the Turks are going to behave at the border, whether they are actually missing the elements that are going to feed ISIS physically, with arms. Or, as they recently stated, they are going to reconsider their policy and more widely, including by military means, oppose ISIS. Now we understand that Ankara's position is at a crossroads. From the previous position – when, of course, almost automatic priority was given to everything anti-Kurdish – to a new position, where they have to build this position in a policy associated with significant opposition to ISIS,” Baklanov promises.