Turkey remains one of only two Nato members – the other being Hungary – which have yet to agree to the accession of Finland and Sweden to the alliance. Any division among Nato allies also has broader ramifications for the war in Ukraine. IS is not the only potential beneficiary of Turkish airstrikes against US allies in Syria. The combination of Turkish strikes and threats has led to a suspension of joint US-Kurdish anti-IS patrols in Syria, at a time when the latest US assessment of IS notes a significant increase in its activity in Syria. Ukraine war: Turkey is the pivot point between Russia and the US – history shows us why Warnings, including from US defence secretary Lloyd Austin, have so far succeeded in staving off a Turkish ground campaign in Syria. Subsequent Turkish airstrikes against SDF targets in Syria and continuing threats of a ground invasion are bad news for the war against IS and bad for relations between Washington and Ankara, who are, after all, also Nato allies. The SDF, which denies any links to the Istanbul bomb attack, is also Washington’s main ally in Operation Inherent Resolve, a US-led coalition effort against Islamic State (IS). When a bomb exploded in a busy pedestrian area of Istanbul on November 13, killing six people and wounding dozens more, Turkey blamed the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a mainly Kurdish militia group based in Syria, that Ankara links to the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK. It could help strengthen Vladimir Putin’s relationship with Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at a time when Russia desperately needs influential allies. Now, Russia is potentially the biggest beneficiary of Turkey’s recent military gamble to unleash air strikes on local US allies in Syria.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |