It’s no secret that the deterioration in Turkey’s ties with the United States and other allies over the recent years has resulted in further convergence between Ankara and Moscow, especially in the Syrian theater.
At a press briefing on Feb. 12, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova expressed her hope for a comprehensive solution in Idlib through talks between Turkish and Russian officials.
The situation in the Idlib province of Syria is getting much more worrying as the Syrian regime deliberately attacks the Turkish deployment in the enclave. The latest offensive killed five troops and wounded another five on Feb. 10, just days after the first incident that claimed the lives of seven soldiers and one civilian.
It’s been more than three-and-a-half years since Turkey survived a notorious coup attempt at the hands of FETÖ that claimed the lives of 250 people and wounded more than 2,000.
Those who were closely following the Syrian civil war were quite sure that the Turkish and Syrian armies would find themselves in an armed conflict one day or another.
A heavy-loaded foreign and security agenda of Turkey makes it nearly impossible to focus on the developments on the domestic political scene, particularly in regard to the in-house processes of the political parties.
As of today, the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the European Union. This very epic departure of the U.K. has closed a chapter in the history of European politics. How the next episode will be shaped will be seen over the years. During the transition period, British and EU negotiators will now have to discuss the specifics of the future London-Brussels relationship, particularly on trade.
One of the realities of the nine-year-old Syrian conflict is that one should never believe in promises made by warring parties when it comes to abiding by ceasefires. A ceasefire announced on Jan. 12 following another Turkish-Russian initiative for Idlib has been quickly broken by the Syrian forces at the cost of lives, with the number of civilian casualties and people displaced increasing.
Friday’s seismic activity that killed at least 35 people should be regarded as another strong alarm given by Mother Nature to Turkey. It simply tells us that we are not ready for a strong earthquake.
