Salon.com > Turkey-Syria

Will meeting with Turkey mean progress on Syria?

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:19:00 +0000

With the conflict in Syria topping the agenda of President Obama’s meeting Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it comes just as U.S. policy on Syria seems to be arriving at a pivotal juncture on the diplomatic and military fronts.

Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this month took a step to revive diplomatic efforts – fruitless so far – to find a political solution to the crisis by announcing an international conference with Russia, now scheduled for early June in Geneva. At the same time, recent reports about the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria’s conflict sparked a renewed debate about whether the United States should directly intervene militarily there. The Obama administration has resisted calls to direct U.S. military action based on these reports, saying that it needed more evidence and that it was evaluating a wide range of policy options.

This cautious approach on U.S. military options for Syria is easy to criticize, but it is the best path in a range of bad options. The Obama administration wants to avoid actions that could inadvertently ignite and accelerate a wider regional conflict and produce greater threats for the United States and key partners in the region like Israel, Turkey, and Jordan. It also wants to keep the door open for diplomacy and a possible political deal to end the conflict.

Turkey, Syria trade fire for fifth day

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 11:31:00 +0000

AKCAKALE, Turkey (AP) — Turkey and Syria fired artillery and mortars across their volatile border for a fifth consecutive day on Sunday, in one of the most serious and prolonged flare-ups of violence along the frontier.

The exchange of fire stoked fears that Syria's civil war will escalate into a regional conflagration drawing in NATO member Turkey, once an ally of President Bashar Assad but now a key supporter of the rebels fighting to topple him.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had warned on Saturday that Ankara would respond forcefully to each errant Syrian shell that lands on Turkish soil.

Ankara's warning was coupled by an apparent diplomatic push by the Turkish leadership to promote Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa as a possible figure to head a transitional administration to end the conflict in the country.

In an interview with Turkish state television TRT Saturday, Davutoglu said that al-Sharaa was a figure "whose hands are not contaminated in blood" and therefore acceptable to Syrian opposition groups.

It was not clear whether the Turkish stance was coordinated with other allies, but the candid remarks by Davutoglu suggested some consensus might be emerging over a future role for him.

Turkey returns fire at Syria

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 13:45:00 +0000

AKCAKALE, Turkey (AP) — An Associated Press video journalist says Turkish artillery fired toward Syria minutes after a Syrian shell landed on Turkish territory.

The Syrian shell landed some 200 meters (200 yards) inside Turkey, near the border town of Akcakale. A short time later, at least six mortars could be heard fired from Turkey. It was the fifth day in a row that Turkey returned fire.

Abdulhakim Ayhan, the mayor of Akcakale, confirmed that Turkish artillery immediately returned fire.

The Turks have been returning fire since Wednesday when Syrian shelling killed five civilians in a Turkish border town.

Turkey and Syria: Will there be war?

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 20:37:00 +0000

Turkey's parliament Thursday authorized military action in Syria, following cross-border shelling between the two nations this week.

Shells from Syrian government forces struck the Turkish border town of Akcale on Wednesday, killing more than 10 people, including two women and three children. Turkey fired back, killing several Syrian troops. Now, based on the bill passed today, Turkish forces are permitted by parliament to pursue military action across its border any time in the next year.

"This mandate is not a war mandate but it is in our hands to be used when need be in order to protect Turkey's own interests," said Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay in a statement on Turkish television. Meanwhile, the international community has expressed growing concerns about the Turkey-Syria tensions and commentators are elaborating on concerns and worst case scenarios.