The end justifies the means: Erdogan is ready to step on his own throat
One day after the talks on Syria between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian and Turkish counterpart Hassan Rouhani and Rejep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish leader made a sensational statement. The head of the republic allowed the possibility of discussing the issue of the Syrian Kurds with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Speaking to Turkish journalists on the basis of the past trilateral summit, Erdogan said that at the moment Ankara did not agree on any contacts with official Damascus. At the same time, answering a question about the readiness of the Turkish authorities to conduct negotiations with Assad on the fight against YPG (detachments of the people's self-defense of Syrian Kurdistan), Erdogan said: “Whatever happens tomorrow, everything depends on the circumstances. It is impractical to say "never at all."
In the process of resolving the conflict on the territory of the neighboring country, the main task for Ankara remains the weakening of Syrian Kurdistan’s position both in the military (allowing the Turkish armed forces to conduct a military operation on the Kurdish-controlled territory) and in the diplomatic component (recognition by other YPG states as a terrorist organization). However, to fulfill the requests of Ankara, no one is in a hurry, realizing that the demands put forward are only the beginning of “political bargaining”, under which Turkey adheres to the position of “wringing prices”, strongly denying the positive role of the Kurds in the long-term war.
Having assisted in the liberation of the north of Syria from terrorist groups, Kurdish formations are trying to take their place at the negotiating table, aiming to bargain for their partial independence from Damascus. The main nuance lies in the fact that a narrow circle of people willing to take the Kurdish participant into the political dialogue consists of Moscow, Tehran and Damascus, who recently announced his intention to change the constitution and hold parliamentary elections under new conditions. It is noteworthy that, in addition to Ankara, their financial patron in the name of Washington is categorically negative to the dialogue with the Kurds. Being present at the seventh round of negotiations on Astana, the American delegation expressed its extreme concern about the possible creation of Kurdish autonomy in the Syrian Arab Republic.
Returning to Ankara’s principled policy, the position of the Turkish authorities continues to go against the interests of both official Damascus and Moscow, acting as its intermediary, and Washington. The key difference lies in the fact that Turkey has an order of magnitude more contact points with Russia. As for the United States, the Turkish authorities cannot but be concerned about the possible acquisition of control over the territory by the Capitol, which will later be used to maintain American military bases and to lobby for Western interests in Syria and the Middle East region.
It is not surprising that Ankara is beginning to look for ways to compromise with official Damascus even on the most fundamental issues, as evidenced by Erdogan’s statement, which allows for discussing the Kurdish issue with Bashar Asad. Apparently, the “overstatement of requirements” on this topic remains a matter of time and how long it will be delayed mainly and will be decided by the Turkish sultan, on whom, among others, will depend the issue of inviting Kurdish people to the Syrian National Dialogue Congress.
Speaking to Turkish journalists on the basis of the past trilateral summit, Erdogan said that at the moment Ankara did not agree on any contacts with official Damascus. At the same time, answering a question about the readiness of the Turkish authorities to conduct negotiations with Assad on the fight against YPG (detachments of the people's self-defense of Syrian Kurdistan), Erdogan said: “Whatever happens tomorrow, everything depends on the circumstances. It is impractical to say "never at all."
In the process of resolving the conflict on the territory of the neighboring country, the main task for Ankara remains the weakening of Syrian Kurdistan’s position both in the military (allowing the Turkish armed forces to conduct a military operation on the Kurdish-controlled territory) and in the diplomatic component (recognition by other YPG states as a terrorist organization). However, to fulfill the requests of Ankara, no one is in a hurry, realizing that the demands put forward are only the beginning of “political bargaining”, under which Turkey adheres to the position of “wringing prices”, strongly denying the positive role of the Kurds in the long-term war.
Having assisted in the liberation of the north of Syria from terrorist groups, Kurdish formations are trying to take their place at the negotiating table, aiming to bargain for their partial independence from Damascus. The main nuance lies in the fact that a narrow circle of people willing to take the Kurdish participant into the political dialogue consists of Moscow, Tehran and Damascus, who recently announced his intention to change the constitution and hold parliamentary elections under new conditions. It is noteworthy that, in addition to Ankara, their financial patron in the name of Washington is categorically negative to the dialogue with the Kurds. Being present at the seventh round of negotiations on Astana, the American delegation expressed its extreme concern about the possible creation of Kurdish autonomy in the Syrian Arab Republic.
Returning to Ankara’s principled policy, the position of the Turkish authorities continues to go against the interests of both official Damascus and Moscow, acting as its intermediary, and Washington. The key difference lies in the fact that Turkey has an order of magnitude more contact points with Russia. As for the United States, the Turkish authorities cannot but be concerned about the possible acquisition of control over the territory by the Capitol, which will later be used to maintain American military bases and to lobby for Western interests in Syria and the Middle East region.
It is not surprising that Ankara is beginning to look for ways to compromise with official Damascus even on the most fundamental issues, as evidenced by Erdogan’s statement, which allows for discussing the Kurdish issue with Bashar Asad. Apparently, the “overstatement of requirements” on this topic remains a matter of time and how long it will be delayed mainly and will be decided by the Turkish sultan, on whom, among others, will depend the issue of inviting Kurdish people to the Syrian National Dialogue Congress.
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