The US analytical magazine TIME writes about the reasons Turkey is fighting Islamic State and the Kurds. After the terrorist attack in the border city of Suruc, Turkey officially joined the war against IS. However it is still unclear how this confrontation will turn out. Over the course of several years, the Republic of Turkey led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become an economically strong state, but there are a number of factors weakening Turkey. The Turkish leadership intends to fight them.
On the one hand, war with IS will require powerful financial investments from Turkey, but at the same time, it could unite the country's population, and the state will be able to cope with the major enemy of the whole world – terrorism. In addition, it is also possible that such a step will help the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to boost the ailing confidence in its actions and continue its policy aimed at strengthening the Turkish state.
In addition to the above, the fight against IS could be the solution to the Syrian problem. The point is that Turkey doesn’t stop providing humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees, placing them in purpose-built and well-equipped camps. However, maintaining such sites is a large expense to the Turkish economy and an end to the war in Syria would mean stabilization of the financial situation in the Republic of Turkey.
There is also a probability of normalization of relations with the Kurds, if they make efforts to fight IS. There is a probability that the Turkish and Kurdish sides will understand each other, but they will have to make diplomatic efforts and certain concessions. It is obvious that the Turkish leadership is aware of the problem of global terrorism, but it will take a long and difficult period of time in order for the state to eliminate the threat.
The Washington Post writes why the agreement on Iran is so important for Barack Obama. The priority of the foreign policy of the Obama administration was to establish a dialogue with the countries of the so-called "aggressive policy" toward the United States. It is not so easy for the state, which is trying to spread its influence in all world regions, to establish a dialogue with those countries which can potentially pose a threat to America. However, Iran's desire to negotiate and put an end to the long-term period of unjustified sanctions gave the American leadership a trump card that can justify the direction of their foreign policy.
If Congress cannot block the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, the Obama administration will be remembered as the most peaceful of US administrations over the last decades, which has managed to achieve an end to one of the world's conflicts. But we should not forget that Barack Obama's presidential term ends after a year. Who knows what decisions the next president will take and how they will affect stability in the Middle East region?
