Turkish parliament approves bill to deploy troops in Qatar

Turkish parliament approves bill to deploy troops in Qatar

    Wednesday, June 07, 2017   No comments

Turkey's parliament on June 7 approved a draft bill allowing its troops to be deployed to a Turkish military base in Qatar.

The move appears to support the Gulf Arab country as it faces diplomatic and trade isolation from some of the biggest Middle Eastern powers.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar and closed their airspace to commercial flights on Monday, charging it with financing militant groups.

Qatar vehemently denies the accusations. It is the worst split between powerful Arab states in decades.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has criticized the Arab states' move, saying isolating Qatar and imposing sanctions will not resolve any problems and adding that Ankara will do everything in its power to help end the crisis. source

Turkish leaders feel betrayed by the Trump administration's choosing Kurdish fighters as partners in its fight against ISIS over Turkey

Turkish leaders feel betrayed by the Trump administration's choosing Kurdish fighters as partners in its fight against ISIS over Turkey

    Wednesday, May 10, 2017   No comments

ISR comment: Turkish officials outraged by the US decision to arm Syrian Kurdish fighters. Erdogan, who will be meeting Trump soon, may return set to make a strategic move in terms of his regional and international alliances. A major shift is signaled by the unprecedented reaction to the White House's decision: Turkey's president, prime minister, and foreign minister, all, released harsh statements asking the US administration to rescind its decision, which is very unlikely to happen.
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Turkey warns U.S. of blowback from decision to arm Kurdish fighters in Syria

Turkey warned the United States on Wednesday that a decision to arm Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State in Syria could end up hurting Washington, and accused its NATO ally of siding with terrorists.

The rebuke came a week before President Tayyip Erdogan is due in Washington for his first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, who approved the arms supply to support a campaign to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa from Islamic State.

Turkey views the YPG as the Syrian extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984 and is considered a terrorist group by the United States, Turkey and Europe.

"We want to believe that our allies will prefer to side with us, not with a terrorist organization," Erdogan told a news conference in Ankara, saying he would convey Turkey's stance to Trump next week and at a NATO summit later this month.

He said he hoped that recently taken decisions would be changed by the time he visits the United States.

Earlier, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters the U.S. failure to consider Turkey's sensitivities "will surely have consequences and will yield a negative result for the U.S. as well".

The United States regards the YPG as a valuable partner in the fight against Islamic State militants in northern Syria. Washington says that arming the Kurdish forces is necessary to recapturing Raqqa, Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria and a hub for planning attacks against the West.

That argument holds little sway with Ankara, which worries that advances by the YPG in northern Syria could inflame the PKK insurgency on Turkish soil.

source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-usa-turkey-idUSKBN1860SG

Turkey criticizes move to raise Kurdish flag in Iraq

Turkey criticizes move to raise Kurdish flag in Iraq

    Wednesday, March 29, 2017   No comments

ISR Comment:

Turkish government seem to have checkmated itself in Iraq and Syria: At one point it offered sanctuary to a Iraqi Sunni politician accused of connections to terrorism undermining Iraq’s government efforts to establish control over all of its territory. That move was intended to find a path to influence decision making in Iraq. To further pressure the central Iraqi government, which is dominated by Shia who represent the majority of the population in that country, the Turkish government chose to deal the regional Kurdish government and even sign energy deals, in violation of Iraqi law that has the authority over oil trade. Now, that Kurdish people in Syria are carving territory to establish an autonomous region that could potentially link with the Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region, encouraging Kurds in Turkey to do the same, the Turkish government is condemning a Kurdish move in Iraq. How can Turkey limit Kurdish gains after it did its best to weaken the central governments in Syria and Iraq?

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Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has criticized the decision of an Iraqi provincial assembly to raise a Kurdish flag alongside the Iraqi national flag at public buildings.

On Tuesday, 26 Kurdish members of Kirkuk’s provincial assembly voted in favor of raising the Kurdish flag alongside Iraq’s national flag outside the city’s public buildings and institutions.

Arab and Turkmen members of the provincial assembly were conspicuously absent from the meeting.

In an interview with state-broadcaster TRT Haber in Ankara Wednesday, Cavusoglu said: “We don’t approve of this voting held by the regional administration.

“Such a step will not help Iraq’s future, stability and security at a time when Iraq is fighting against Daesh.  Source

Turkey no longer insists on Assad's ouster

Turkey no longer insists on Assad's ouster

    Friday, January 20, 2017   No comments

Turkey can no longer insist on a resolution of the conflict in Syria without the involvement of President Bashar al-Assad, as the situation on the ground has changed dramatically, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Friday.

Turkey has long insisted that Assad must go for sustainable peace to be achieved in Syria. But it has become less insistent on his immediate departure since its recent rapprochement with Russia, which backs the Syrian leader, and ahead of peace talks planned in Kazakhstan next week.

“As far as our position on Assad is concerned, we think that the suffering of (the) Syrian people and the tragedies, clearly the blame is squarely on Assad. But we have to be pragmatic, realistic,” Simsek told a panel on Syria and Iraq at the World Economic Forum in Davos.


“The facts on the ground have changed dramatically, so Turkey can no longer insist on a settlement without Assad, it’s not realistic,” he said.

President Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman said last week that Turkey still believes a united and peaceful Syria is impossible with Assad, but wants to proceed “step-by-step” and see the outcome of the peace talks in Astana.

Turkey and Russia brokered a ceasefire in Syria which has largely held in the run-up to the Astana talks, a process which follows the defeat of the Syrian opposition in the northern city of Aleppo last month.

 

Erdogan says he has evidence US-led coalition has given support to Isis

Erdogan says he has evidence US-led coalition has given support to Isis

    Tuesday, December 27, 2016   No comments

ISR comment: For four years, some government officials from Syria, Iran, and Iraq have accused members of the U.S.-led anti-ISIL coalition of supporting the UN-designated terror group. Russia had also accused Turkey of allowing ISIL fighters to cross its borders freely, open its market for ISIL to sell Iraqi and Syrian oil to Turkish dealers, and provide the group with weapons. Now, it is the Turkish president who is accusing the anti-ISIL coalition, in which his government is a member, accusing it, including the United States government of providing support to Daesh [he used the Arabic acronym for ISIL, ISIS, or IS). What is very clear is that, some governments have been supporting all armed groups in Syria, including ISIL and Nusra and the cache of sophisticated weapons left behind in buildings previously controlled by Nusra fighters in east Aleppo is evidence of that. This coming year might reveal the governments that took part in the destruction of Syria and the killing of hundreds of thousands of Syrians Erdogan's statement might be just the first of many testimonies.

ISILfighters killing civilians accused of being spies this month.

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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he has evidence that U.S.-led coalition forces give support to terrorist groups including the Islamic State and Kurdish militant groups YPG and PYD, he said on Tuesday.

"They were accusing us of supporting Daesh (Islamic State)," he told a press conference in Ankara.

"Now they give support to terrorist groups including Daesh, YPG, PYD. It's very clear. We have confirmed evidence, with pictures, photos and videos," he said. source
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The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he has uncovered evidence that US-led coalition forces have helped support terrorists in Syria – including Isis.

American-led forces have been working alongside Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad but have attempted to avoid helping Isis and other Islamist militant groups.

However, speaking on Tuesday in the Turkish capital, Ankara, he said he believed they had given support to a variety of militant groups, including Isis Kurdish outfits YPG and PYD. source
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Throughout Syria's five-year civil war, Turkey and the U.S. have been opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad and have backed various rebel factions against the Syrian army and its allies, which include Russia and Iran. Recent major victories by the Syrian government and its supporters, however, have brought Turkey to the negotiating table. Source

The Cross Shield: ISIS burns Turkish soldiers alive

The Cross Shield: ISIS burns Turkish soldiers alive

    Saturday, December 24, 2016   No comments

The armed group calling itself "the islamic state" [IS] released another video depicting its cruel and unusual acts. The video depicts group members carrying out execution of Turkish captured soldiers, being burned alive

Turkey launched a campaign against IS in northern Syria in August and is currently fighting IS around the group's stronghold of al-Bab.
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The Turkish army previously reported losing contact with two soldiers in northern Syria last month but it is unclear whether either are the men in the video.

At least one of the purported victims appears to have been captured by the group as far back as September 2015.

Turkish officials did not immediately respond to the publication of the video late on Thursday. source