TEHRAN (Realist English). Recep Erdoğan’s speech in Tehran at the recurrent summit of the countries in the format of the Astana process for the settlement of the situation in Syria no longer surprises anyone with its cynicism and hypocrisy.
As in his previous similar “revelations”, Erdoğanboasted of his contribution to the fight against terrorism in Syria. In this connection, he named the Islamic State among Turkey’s opponents* (an organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation), and then the Turkish Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) together with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
It is a well known fact that Turkish troops have never clashed with ISIS* gangs anywhere. Erdoğanbrazenly lies about his “exploits”. When in need, the Turks have perfectly negotiated with the militants of the “Islamic State”.* Moreover, for several years Turkey was a transit corridor for the transfer of tens of thousands of jihadists from all over the world to Syria and Iraq, served as a reliable rear for ISIS bandits* for supplies of weapons, ammunition, treatment of wounded jihadists in Turkish medical institutions, trade in oil and petroleum products, museum artifacts, agricultural products, etc.
The main burden of the fight against this international evil was borne by the Kurdish self-defense units, which first stopped the ISIS offensive on the strategically important city of Kobani, and then with the help of the international coalition liberated all the northern and northeastern regions of the SAR, including the capital of the “Islamic Caliphate”, Raqqa. Turkish troops, like the remnants of Assad’s army, have been holding a wait-and-see position for a long time.
After the Kurds defeated the largest detachments of the “Islamic State”*, the Turkish Armed Forces invaded Syrian territories, occupied the northwest and part of the north of the country (Idlib, Aleppo, Afrin, Hasakeh provinces), supported the armed Syrian opposition and radical Islamist groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra* and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham”.* The Kurdish civilians were expelled from the occupied territories, the Turkish administration and law enforcement agencies were established, Turkish flags were hung out, Turkish language education was introduced in schools, Syrian money was replaced with Turkish lira. In this connection, Erdoğanemphasizes that he will never return these lands to the “Syrian Assad regime”.
He declared the PKK, the PYD, and the SDS the main terrorist enemies under the pretext of fighting which, all the new Syrian territories are being occupied. Ankara is creating the so-called 30-kilometer “security belt” on the territory of the SAR along the entire 900 km of the Turkish-Syrian border. Sunni Arabs and Turkomans from among the refugees are being resettled on the lands “liberated” from the Kurds.
Erdoğanismisleading his Astana partners and the public with an imaginary threat from the Kurds. The Turkish PKK has not carried out any military operations or terrorist attacks on the territory of Turkey for a long time, its leader Abdullah Ocalan is in prison and cooperates with the special services of Turkey. Among the PKK functionaries, more than half are ethnic Turks — agents of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization. Today, the PKK is Erdoğan’s obedient tool, which plays the role of a bogeyman of the Kurdish threat in order to justify Ankara’s aggressive policy in neighboring Syria and Iraq.
The PYD/SDS militias have never violated the border with Turkey or shelled its territory during the existence of the Rojava Syrian autonomy. On the contrary, it is Turkish troops and their proxy forces from among the Islamist militants who regularly launches rocket and bomb attacks, artillery and mortar attacks, carries out punitive operations, ethnic cleansing in the border Kurdish areas (Afrin and others).
How cynical are Erdoğan’s calls for peace in long-suffering Syria, where tens of thousands of Kurdish families flee from new attacks by the Turkish Armed Forces on the Eastern bank of the Euphrates River and the neighboring Iraq. It would be logical to create a 30-km security zone on the territory of Turkey itself, removing the Turkish troops from there in order to protect the neighboring areas of Syria from the aggressive actions of the unbridled neighbor.
* an organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation
Stanislav Ivanov is an expert on the Middle East, Special to Realist English
