Project "ZZ". Putin, you are my lord
Moscow and Ankara appear in the typical eastern role of conspirators. American interests in Syria will be dealt with an “aggressive” blow. Putin and Erdogan have already agreed on everything. Putin plays the first violin, Erdogan accompanies the orchestra.
V.V. Putin and R.T. Erdogan became close because of Syria. Now Russia and Turkey are weaving joint intrigues against the United States in the Middle East. A blow to the power of the United States will be inflicted in Syria.
Putin and Erdogan are already “preparing” to deliver a “aggressive” blow to US interests in Syria, says publicist Tom Rogan, whose comment appeared on the pages of the publication "Washington Examiner".
After watching the joint press conference of Erdogan and Putin, held in Turkey, Rogan made some of his own conclusions, disappointing for the Trump administration.
Putin stated with regard to Syria that Turkey and Russia have agreed on a cease-fire in the north-eastern province of Idlib. This is not a plus for the United States, since it means that Idlib, this large stronghold of Sunni insurgents fighting "the Assad-Putin-Iran axis," is about to lose the support of Erdogan, who set out to stop supplying the rebels.
In December last year, Mr. Rogan warned that Russia sees its goal as “the destruction of the rebels in Idlib”. But now that Erdogan has portrayed Putin’s puppet and suppliant, and the United States has refused the support of most of the rebel groups, everything is in favor of stripping Idlib of Russia, Asad and Iran, the author summarizes. “Prepare for the Aleppo-style massacre,” he advises.
According to Rogan, the United States should not refuse to support the few groups of moderately Sunni opposition with whom contacts still exist. If Washington turns its back on these groupings, the IG (Islamic State, prohibited in the Russian Federation) and its satellites, as well as Iran and Russia (through weakening confidence in the region, the analyst specifies) will benefit from this.
There are other "bad news, Rogan taunts. Erdogan and Putin "hinted" that they were going to crush the Kurds. Erdogan complained about the Kurdish referendum held the other day. According to him, the plebiscite caused a "regional crisis." The Turkish President promised: "We must prevent steps that could later cause major mistakes by the Kurdish regional authorities."
What can these "we" prevent?
Something suggested Putin. Rather, he made the "unpleasant hint." The former KGB lieutenant colonel, the author points out, said: “We have agreed to continue close cooperation with our foreign ministries, our defense ministries and our intelligence services on the Syrian conflict and other regional issues.”
When Putin refers to his own intelligence services, it means "cruelty or violence," Rogan said. At present, “the risks of attacks of the Turkish-Russian axis on the Kurdish territories are significant,” he believes.
Alas, behind all this wider problems in the American-Turkish relations are visible, the publicist sums up. Namely, the fact that the leader of one of the leading American allies in NATO, Turkey, has now “firmly joined Vladimir Putin.” And not without reason at the press conference, Erdogan has repeatedly noted that he and Putin "often talk on the phone," and repeatedly called Putin his "friend" and even "dear friend." Having amused "his master's ego," Erdogan "thanked Putin in Russian!"
Thanks to Erdogan’s agreement with Putin, thanks to the love of Moscow and Ankara, the war in Syria is about to end, writes "Der Spiegel" Maximilian Popp, author of a report from Istanbul.
“Putin visited Erdogan. There is a plan behind this love, ”the journalist tells, not without irony. This is a "clear signal": the West is warned.
In June 2016, the author recalls, something extraordinary happened: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized to Putin! A year earlier, the Turkish military shot down a Russian fighter over Syria. For several months, both states were on the verge of conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin imposed economic sanctions against Ankara, stopped the flow of tourists from Russia to Turkey.
But since then, Turkish-Russian relations have undergone an “amazing transformation.” Erdogan seeks "closer proximity with Russia." He visited Moscow and called Putin his "dear friend Vladimir."
Now Putin has visited Ankara - for the first time in three years. And Syria has become one of the topics of their conversation. The Turkish government regards negotiations as a sign of “normalization of Turkish-Russian relations”. But politicians in Europe and the United States fear that Turkey may "turn away from the West and turn to Russia."
The rapprochement between Turkey and Russia was first welcomed by Washington. Barack Obama, who was the president of the United States at the time, after the shooting down of the aircraft, personally initiated a “de-escalation of the conflict” between the two states.
However, the acquisition by the Turks of the Russian antimissile system C-400 is an unequivocal warning to Western strategists. It is important for Europe and the USA to understand: Turkey, in principle, can “break out of the defense alliance”.
Relations between Turkey and the West, reminds Popp, have long been experiencing a serious crisis. A number of NATO countries are worried about the “authoritarian government style of Erdogan”. In turn, Ankara accuses its partners of supporting Turkey’s enemies, for example, the extremists of the Kurdish terrorist organization PKK or the followers of the sect of the Islamic preacher Gulen, who is allegedly responsible for the attempt to overthrow Erdogan 15 on July 2016.
The decision of US President Donald Trump to equip the YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK, with heavy weapons to fight the “Islamic State” has further aggravated tensions between Ankara and Washington.
Erdogan is now moving in the direction of Russia, and he is doing this “mainly for strategic reasons.” He wants to demonstrate to Europeans and Americans that he does not depend on their "goodwill", that Turkey "has other partners." At the same time, he believes that the interests of his country in Syria currently benefit most from cooperation with Russia.
At one time, the Turkish government failed to overthrow “the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad using Islamic extremists,” Popp reminds. Now in Syria we are talking about something else: mainly Turkey’s interests extend to preventing the creation of a state by the Kurds. And Erdogan is counting on "the support of Assad's allies - Russia and Iran."
Erdogan is much less interested in ideology than the West. Erdogan is rather a pragmatist in foreign policy.
Still, the partnership between Putin and Erdogan is limited. Russia's attitude to the Kurds is “not at all unambiguous,” because in Moscow “many consider the YPG to be a legitimate partner in the fight against the Islamists in Syria.”
In addition, Russia is preparing a major attack in Idlib province, where opposition groups have taken root. Some of them are "close to Turkey." The bloody clashes around Idlib can quickly revive “anti-Russian indignation” among the Turkish population, similar to what happened in the winter battles for Aleppo. Erdogan risks an image: he may be perceived “as an accomplice of Putin,” said Ahmet K. Khan, a political analyst at the Kadir-Ha University in Istanbul. In this case, Russian-Turkish relations can "quickly cool down."
On the other hand, there is some progress in the Kurdish issue. And it’s not for nothing that Russia declared that the war in Syria with the help of Turkey would end soon. This writes Tom O'Connor in the publication Newsweek.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed on the actual conditions necessary to end the war between the warring factions in Syria. Putin’s statement was the result of Russia's work with Iran and Turkey to achieve a political resolution of the six-year conflict. Turkey, which has sponsored rebels since 2011, who wanted to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, agreed to create four de-escalation zones in a war-torn country. "I consider these agreements to be our common extremely important success," the author of the article by President Putin quotes.
Next, O'Connor turns to the Kurdish question. Russia highly appreciated the statement of the Syrian government that it is ready to hold talks on greater Kurdish autonomy. However, in condemning the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, Putin "joined Erdogan."
In the "Syrian" relations of Russia and Turkey there were great difficulties and there were attempts to get closer. The difficulties were overcome, and now, as noted by the largest Western media, Erdogan and Putin are demonstrating a “close partnership”. Obviously, Erdogan even abandoned his plans to overthrow Assad, who in times not so old called out "Butcher" and "killer."
However, you should not trust Erdogan. As they correctly write in foreign newspapers, he is more a pragmatist than a slave to any ideology. The Turkish president will do everything to prevent the Kurdish state from forming: in Turkey, more than 18% of the population are Kurds, and the Kurdish question plays a huge role in the domestic policy of the state. Any dispute between Moscow and Ankara over the so-called Kurdistan could put the Syrian alliance of Turkey and Russia in jeopardy. In this case, there will be nothing left of “love” and “dear friendship” between Erdogan and Putin, while Western analysts will stop teasing the Turkish ruler with “Putin's puppet”.
At the Russian-Turkish negotiations. A photo: kremlin.ru
V.V. Putin and R.T. Erdogan became close because of Syria. Now Russia and Turkey are weaving joint intrigues against the United States in the Middle East. A blow to the power of the United States will be inflicted in Syria.
Putin and Erdogan are already “preparing” to deliver a “aggressive” blow to US interests in Syria, says publicist Tom Rogan, whose comment appeared on the pages of the publication "Washington Examiner".
After watching the joint press conference of Erdogan and Putin, held in Turkey, Rogan made some of his own conclusions, disappointing for the Trump administration.
Putin stated with regard to Syria that Turkey and Russia have agreed on a cease-fire in the north-eastern province of Idlib. This is not a plus for the United States, since it means that Idlib, this large stronghold of Sunni insurgents fighting "the Assad-Putin-Iran axis," is about to lose the support of Erdogan, who set out to stop supplying the rebels.
In December last year, Mr. Rogan warned that Russia sees its goal as “the destruction of the rebels in Idlib”. But now that Erdogan has portrayed Putin’s puppet and suppliant, and the United States has refused the support of most of the rebel groups, everything is in favor of stripping Idlib of Russia, Asad and Iran, the author summarizes. “Prepare for the Aleppo-style massacre,” he advises.
According to Rogan, the United States should not refuse to support the few groups of moderately Sunni opposition with whom contacts still exist. If Washington turns its back on these groupings, the IG (Islamic State, prohibited in the Russian Federation) and its satellites, as well as Iran and Russia (through weakening confidence in the region, the analyst specifies) will benefit from this.
There are other "bad news, Rogan taunts. Erdogan and Putin "hinted" that they were going to crush the Kurds. Erdogan complained about the Kurdish referendum held the other day. According to him, the plebiscite caused a "regional crisis." The Turkish President promised: "We must prevent steps that could later cause major mistakes by the Kurdish regional authorities."
What can these "we" prevent?
Something suggested Putin. Rather, he made the "unpleasant hint." The former KGB lieutenant colonel, the author points out, said: “We have agreed to continue close cooperation with our foreign ministries, our defense ministries and our intelligence services on the Syrian conflict and other regional issues.”
When Putin refers to his own intelligence services, it means "cruelty or violence," Rogan said. At present, “the risks of attacks of the Turkish-Russian axis on the Kurdish territories are significant,” he believes.
Alas, behind all this wider problems in the American-Turkish relations are visible, the publicist sums up. Namely, the fact that the leader of one of the leading American allies in NATO, Turkey, has now “firmly joined Vladimir Putin.” And not without reason at the press conference, Erdogan has repeatedly noted that he and Putin "often talk on the phone," and repeatedly called Putin his "friend" and even "dear friend." Having amused "his master's ego," Erdogan "thanked Putin in Russian!"
Thanks to Erdogan’s agreement with Putin, thanks to the love of Moscow and Ankara, the war in Syria is about to end, writes "Der Spiegel" Maximilian Popp, author of a report from Istanbul.
“Putin visited Erdogan. There is a plan behind this love, ”the journalist tells, not without irony. This is a "clear signal": the West is warned.
In June 2016, the author recalls, something extraordinary happened: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized to Putin! A year earlier, the Turkish military shot down a Russian fighter over Syria. For several months, both states were on the verge of conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin imposed economic sanctions against Ankara, stopped the flow of tourists from Russia to Turkey.
But since then, Turkish-Russian relations have undergone an “amazing transformation.” Erdogan seeks "closer proximity with Russia." He visited Moscow and called Putin his "dear friend Vladimir."
Now Putin has visited Ankara - for the first time in three years. And Syria has become one of the topics of their conversation. The Turkish government regards negotiations as a sign of “normalization of Turkish-Russian relations”. But politicians in Europe and the United States fear that Turkey may "turn away from the West and turn to Russia."
The rapprochement between Turkey and Russia was first welcomed by Washington. Barack Obama, who was the president of the United States at the time, after the shooting down of the aircraft, personally initiated a “de-escalation of the conflict” between the two states.
However, the acquisition by the Turks of the Russian antimissile system C-400 is an unequivocal warning to Western strategists. It is important for Europe and the USA to understand: Turkey, in principle, can “break out of the defense alliance”.
Relations between Turkey and the West, reminds Popp, have long been experiencing a serious crisis. A number of NATO countries are worried about the “authoritarian government style of Erdogan”. In turn, Ankara accuses its partners of supporting Turkey’s enemies, for example, the extremists of the Kurdish terrorist organization PKK or the followers of the sect of the Islamic preacher Gulen, who is allegedly responsible for the attempt to overthrow Erdogan 15 on July 2016.
The decision of US President Donald Trump to equip the YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK, with heavy weapons to fight the “Islamic State” has further aggravated tensions between Ankara and Washington.
Erdogan is now moving in the direction of Russia, and he is doing this “mainly for strategic reasons.” He wants to demonstrate to Europeans and Americans that he does not depend on their "goodwill", that Turkey "has other partners." At the same time, he believes that the interests of his country in Syria currently benefit most from cooperation with Russia.
At one time, the Turkish government failed to overthrow “the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad using Islamic extremists,” Popp reminds. Now in Syria we are talking about something else: mainly Turkey’s interests extend to preventing the creation of a state by the Kurds. And Erdogan is counting on "the support of Assad's allies - Russia and Iran."
Erdogan is much less interested in ideology than the West. Erdogan is rather a pragmatist in foreign policy.
Still, the partnership between Putin and Erdogan is limited. Russia's attitude to the Kurds is “not at all unambiguous,” because in Moscow “many consider the YPG to be a legitimate partner in the fight against the Islamists in Syria.”
In addition, Russia is preparing a major attack in Idlib province, where opposition groups have taken root. Some of them are "close to Turkey." The bloody clashes around Idlib can quickly revive “anti-Russian indignation” among the Turkish population, similar to what happened in the winter battles for Aleppo. Erdogan risks an image: he may be perceived “as an accomplice of Putin,” said Ahmet K. Khan, a political analyst at the Kadir-Ha University in Istanbul. In this case, Russian-Turkish relations can "quickly cool down."
On the other hand, there is some progress in the Kurdish issue. And it’s not for nothing that Russia declared that the war in Syria with the help of Turkey would end soon. This writes Tom O'Connor in the publication Newsweek.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed on the actual conditions necessary to end the war between the warring factions in Syria. Putin’s statement was the result of Russia's work with Iran and Turkey to achieve a political resolution of the six-year conflict. Turkey, which has sponsored rebels since 2011, who wanted to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, agreed to create four de-escalation zones in a war-torn country. "I consider these agreements to be our common extremely important success," the author of the article by President Putin quotes.
Next, O'Connor turns to the Kurdish question. Russia highly appreciated the statement of the Syrian government that it is ready to hold talks on greater Kurdish autonomy. However, in condemning the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, Putin "joined Erdogan."
* * *
In the "Syrian" relations of Russia and Turkey there were great difficulties and there were attempts to get closer. The difficulties were overcome, and now, as noted by the largest Western media, Erdogan and Putin are demonstrating a “close partnership”. Obviously, Erdogan even abandoned his plans to overthrow Assad, who in times not so old called out "Butcher" and "killer."
However, you should not trust Erdogan. As they correctly write in foreign newspapers, he is more a pragmatist than a slave to any ideology. The Turkish president will do everything to prevent the Kurdish state from forming: in Turkey, more than 18% of the population are Kurds, and the Kurdish question plays a huge role in the domestic policy of the state. Any dispute between Moscow and Ankara over the so-called Kurdistan could put the Syrian alliance of Turkey and Russia in jeopardy. In this case, there will be nothing left of “love” and “dear friendship” between Erdogan and Putin, while Western analysts will stop teasing the Turkish ruler with “Putin's puppet”.
Information