The Turkey-US rift brings to mind this question: Is President Donald Trump in full control of his diplomatic and military apparatus?
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) head Devlet Bahçeli recently declared that his party would give full support for the re-election of President Tayyip Erdoğan, the chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti).
The U.S. statement on Jan. 14 that a “border security unit” of around 30,000 troops in Syria will be established along the Turkish and Iraqi borders, half of which will be composed of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has drawn a strong reaction from NATO ally Turkey.
“Despite everything, we believe we have joint interests with the United States in the region and hope we can act together, because this is the time to qualify the strategic cooperation among us and support Turkey… I hope that meanwhile, our allies will not make the mistake of being in the same ranks with the terrorist organization during the Afrin operation,” said Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan on Jan. 14.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not confirm claims posted on some websites about destroyed airplanes in the Russia-operated Hmeimim air base in Syria on New Year’s Eve but on Jan. 5, Russian officials did say two soldiers had been killed in a rocket attack.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan on Jan. 9 welcomed a call from Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) head Devlet Bahçeli for an alliance with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti), inviting him to talk about the matter in a meeting on Jan. 10.
Government spokesman Bekir Bozdağ announced on Jan. 8 that the state of emergency would be extended for another three months as of Jan. 19.
The BBC reported from Paris on Jan. 5 that French President Emmanuel Macron had ended the “hypocrisy” of pretending there is any prospect of an advance in Turkey’s membership talks with the European Union.
Dilek Yardım was desperately crying while hugging the little coffins of her two daughters, four-year-old Elif and two-year-old Hira, during their funeral in Istanbul’s Maltepe district on Jan. 4.
