Descrier: "Turkey is on the verge of a civil war"

The US publication Al-Monitor, specializing in analysis of the situation in the Middle East, writes about what the true motives of Russian assistance to Syria are. Increasing supplies of Russian weapons to Syria is one of the most contentious issues in the international media. But what are the real motives of the Kremlin?

First, Moscow has never concealed that it provides military assistance to Damascus. And this is done in accordance with international law and within the framework of signed contracts. Secondly, the issue of the fight against Islamic State has become the priority. The US and its allies inflict strikes on the positions of ISIS in Syria, while Russia in turn calls for the formation of a broad coalition with the participation of the world and the regional powers to be able to confront the terrorist group. The Syrian opposition forces are leading the fight on two fronts, and they are much weaker than the terrorists, which is why they are losing their positions in Syria. Almost half of the state is controlled by the ISIS militants, which is why assistance to Damascus is seen only in the context of its struggle with the jihadists.

The US and the EU condemn Russia's intervention in the resolution of the Syrian issue, but why do the Western countries boost their positions within the Syrian government? And why is there no support for the Syrian army in the fight against ISIS by the same US? Russia, in turn, in recent months has been seeking national reconciliation by many groups in the Syrian opposition. In addition, Moscow has been providing humanitarian assistance to Syria, whose population is in need of it against the backdrop of the crisis that unfolded in the country. The Kremlin is interested in finding a political solution to the Syrian problem, but it requires that the West, too, realizes the need for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

The possibility that Russia, the US and the EU will combine their efforts to put an end to the bloodshed in Syria exists, but in this case, countries will have to give up their national interests in order to resolve the situation in the Middle East. Russia is ready for such actions, it remains only to wait for the response of the West.

The British publication Descrier writes that Turkey is on the verge of a civil war. The speed with which Turkey has been gripped by violence after the events in Suruc on July 20th 2015 is provoking anxiety and fears of global analysts. While society is largely focused on the matters of whose fault it is that this is happening and why the country has suddenly found itself in a similar crisis, it is unanimously recognized that this period in the history of Turkey goes beyond all previous periods of instability and internal conflicts.

It is difficult to underestimate how much worse the situation is in Turkey. The truce of the past two and a half years has been nullified very quickly and the conflict with the Kurds escalated to an extreme degree. None of the parties is  going to soften its position: the Kurds are fighting for autonomy, and the Turkish government is introducing a ‘special security regime’ controlled by the military in Kurdish areas. In the course of this conflict the civilian population is suffering, which is not only caught between two fires, but also under threat of attack by Islamic State, which has repeatedly expressed its radical position in regard to the Republic of Turkey.

The international community is trying to urge Turkish leaders to solve their internal conflicts, but the situation has gone so far that in the near future it will not be easy to do so. Now the question is already not even about how to stop the clashes with the Kurds but to prevent the division of the country and the possibility of civil war.