Gündem 12'den guest Barış Doster: He explained the shortest way to solve the Syrian refugee issue

Stating that Cyprus cannot be considered merely as a piece of land and that Cyprus is a homeland, Prof. Dr. Barış Doster made the following statements on the program:

I will start with our landing in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, our 1974 Peace Operation, but as a state, President Erdoğan, Mr. Devlet Bahçeli, and Mr. Özgür Özel are going together, almost like a landing. How do you evaluate this move?

First of all, may the 50th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation be blessed for all of us as a nation; it is very important in terms of our history, important for Turkish geopolitics, important for our diplomacy and foreign policy, important in every dimension... Now, on its 50th anniversary, the presence of political parties from both the government and the opposition in Turkey, and their representation at the level of party leaders, is of course valuable. Furthermore, Cyprus is not just a piece of land for us; it is a homeland. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is very important to us due to its special ties with the Republic of Turkey, in historical, political, cultural, and social terms... 

Secondly, there has been a positive development in recent years: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus now participates in the Organization of Turkic States and summits of Turkic state communities with observer member status. We hope and wish that, starting with other Turkic republics, primarily Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and followed by friendly and brotherly countries, especially Pakistan, they will recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as an independent sovereign state, and we hope and wish that its observer member status will soon turn into full membership, and over time, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will rapidly become a member of all international organizations, primarily the United Nations.

"CYPRUS IS OF VITAL IMPORTANCE"

Another dimension is this: whether you look at it from the perspective of Eurasian geopolitics, from the Anatolian geography, or from Central Asia, no matter where you look in the nearby geography, including the Mediterranean, Cyprus is very important! In other words, the fact that the UK attaches such importance to it, the US attaches such importance to it, Israel attaches such importance to it, the European Union attaches such importance to it, and unfortunately, the fact that it made the Greek Cypriot administration an EU member representing the entire island under the name of the Republic of Cyprus, shows that Cyprus is of vital importance.

Whether you call it the front lock of Eurasia or attribute great importance to it in Middle Eastern geopolitics due to its proximity, no matter how you look at it, in addition to the historical, political, and social importance we attach to it, the world also attaches great importance to the Island of Cyprus. 

In that context, it is very important that Turkey is there on the 50th anniversary of the Peace Operation due to its geopolitical and strategic importance and our historical, political, and cultural ties. 

THE ENERGY-POLITICAL IMPORTANCE OF CYPRUS

There is also an energy-political situation in Mediterranean geopolitics... Because there are massive hydrocarbon deposits around the Island of Cyprus, and in the world, whether we consider Turkey's relations with Libya, the Syrian issue, or the US warships offshore, one of the most important topics and one of the most important knots here is this: who will process and extract these hydrocarbon deposits around the Island of Cyprus, and through which route will this be transported to European and world markets? In that sense, it is very important, and the fact that all three leaders are there shows that the Turkish state is taking strong ownership of this issue... 

How do you evaluate the fact that all three party leaders are there, the representation as president, etc.? The situation of Turkey taking full ownership...

It was very delayed. I wish that during the Annan Plan referendum, the Justice and Development Party government had not supported the plan with the motto 'we will be one step ahead of everyone,' I wish that Rauf Denktaş, nicknamed Toros, one of the national leaders of Cyprus, had not been scolded in public when he wanted to go and speak in his own parliament, I wish that Rauf Denktaş's advisors—and let us commemorate the late Mümtaz Soysal here, and let us commemorate my thesis advisor, the late Erol Manisalı, here—had not been told 'tell him to review his advisors'... Let us send our greetings and wish health to our professor Şükrü Sina Gürel... I wish our national hero Rauf Denktaş had not been scolded in public like that. Now, after making those mistakes, the fact that the Justice and Development Party government has taken this stance at this point is, of course, important, even if it is late!

Well, professor, let's start talking about the Syrian issue. The Ba'ath Party came out as the 1st party in the elections in Syria, and a softening, a normalization was seen with Syrian President Assad, but the statements started to sound inconsistent. Assad seems to have a clear stance regarding the presence of Turkish soldiers there. Can this issue be solved? Because that place is also a hotbed of terrorism, a place where many terrorist organizations are located. Will we be able to solve this?

Because Assad sees such persistent and willing calls from the Turkish state, what is he doing? He is raising the stakes. Otherwise, Assad himself is not currently in control of the entirety of his own country, his own homeland, his own political geography. He knows himself that he is not in control.

"THE SHORTEST WAY TO SOLVE THE SYRIAN REFUGEE ISSUE IS FOR ANKARA TO TALK TO DAMASCUS"

Who is there? The PKK/PYD/YPG terrorist organization is there. Who is there? US imperialism is there. Who bombs that place frequently? Israel bombs it frequently. Assad is aware of this, but Assad wants to raise the stakes. That is one dimension of this. Two, of course, if this issue of Syrian refugees, which Turkey has been talking about for many years, is to be solved—and it must be solved—the shortest, and even the only, the unique way is for Ankara to talk to Damascus...

Now, Assad is aware of this, and because he is conscious of this, he is dragging his feet—to use that beautiful Anatolian expression—and what is he doing? He is trying to extract as many concessions as possible from Turkey. Now, Assad is aware of this, but there is a reality that we also rightly and persistently underline, and that is that, just like in Iraq, terrorism has nested in the north of Syria. We will not allow their presence there; if necessary, cross-border, of course, the situation in Idlib...

Currently, there are two other states that have very strong influence over Assad: one is the Russian Federation and the other is the Islamic Republic of Iran. When Assad negotiates with Turkey, when he talks to Turkey through the press and media—we are not yet talking directly; there is contact at the lower level, at the level of intelligence organizations, and at the military level—but when he makes statements through the media, he is undoubtedly making these statements by also taking the opinion and views of Moscow and Tehran.

In that context, we hope and wish that President Erdoğan and Assad will come together as soon as possible. In fact, Moscow's name is already being mentioned in that regard in diplomatic corridors for a few weeks now, and it is even being talked about that Baghdad is also willing, saying, 'If Moscow doesn't do it, I will step in, I will be the mediator.'

We hope and wish that Assad will respond positively to this call as soon as possible and that the two leaders will come together. Once they come together, if they show the will to solve the problem, if they show the sincerity, the desire, and the wish, a formula will certainly be found.

You mentioned two states, Moscow and Tehran... Do you think Iran and Russia want such an agreement?

Now, Iran for other reasons and Russia for other reasons do not want Turkey's relations with Syria to normalize and subsequently for Turkey to establish influence and have a say over Syria. Because they do not want another state to come and share this influence as two states that consider themselves to have strong, dominant influence over Damascus. Likewise, Russia is against the presence of Turkish soldiers on Syrian soil, and the US is also against it, and both the US and Russia are already supporting the PKK/PYD/YPG terrorist organization for different reasons and through different ways, methods, and tools.

Russia does not even accept it as a terrorist organization, and you might say, 'Does the US call it a terrorist organization and what happens?' It calls it a terrorist organization, but it provides all kinds of support. In that context, Russia says, 'Let me have my own apparatus, let me have my own tool.' In other words, as you pointed out, Russia is trying to snatch this apparatus from the hands of the US and use it as its own apparatus.

Therefore, there are many games within games here. In that context, the most ideal thing is for us to talk directly with Syria without making Russia or Iran an intermediary, but as you said, this is of course not a situation that Russia and Iran would want very much. 

In other words, I do not expect a quick solution overnight, but the border there is really very important, and the withdrawal of Turkish soldiers from there is not possible under the current structure of terrorist organizations. 

The Turkish army and the Syrian army need to be face-to-face at the border if terrorism is to be fought. Then, this might also come to mind: could a door be opened for cooperation between the Turkish army and the Syrian army? This will likely come up in the negotiations. Let's see, we will see.

"I THINK IT IS THE PHOTO OF HIM WINNING THE ELECTION"

Let's move a bit beyond the Pacific. America is in turmoil after the assassination attempt on Trump. Biden has also caught COVID on top of that... It is said that he might withdraw from the candidacy this weekend. As the election approaches, America has started to boil. How do you evaluate this?

There was a generic photo of former US President Donald Trump, the current candidate of the Republicans, just a few minutes after that assassination attempt, with blood trickling down his cheek, wasn't there an American flag in the background? There was such an iconic photo; he raised his fist and was giving a message to his supporters and his base that he would continue his struggle with perseverance and determination. Now, that is really, in my opinion, the photo of him winning the election.

Now think about it, do you know? A former US president who is approaching 80 years old stands up after an assassination attempt and raises his fist in the air to give a message, whereas in contrast, the current president and the candidate of the Democrats invites Zelensky to the stage as Putin. 

He has difficulty remembering the name of Vice President Kamala Harris, sometimes he shakes hands with the air, greets... Now, there is no huge age difference between the two, but there is a big difference in the determination, the fighting spirit, and even the healthy appearance between the two.

Now, this benefited Trump a lot, and after this image, the influential circles and influential environments within Biden's own party have likely increased the pressure on him to 'withdraw.' Yes, it was already said that the pressure existed; those pressures, those suggestions, those calls were there, but after that event, I am sure this has increased even more.

Let's see, this will be clear in 2 days anyway. Will a Biden who cannot respond to these pressures withdraw by saying, 'My friends, my health conditions no longer allow it'—let's use this in quotation marks—due to health reasons, or will he not withdraw? If he withdraws, 3 names are being mentioned within the Democratic Party, primarily the current US Vice President Kamala Harris.

The calendar has narrowed; with so little time left until November 5, will there be a different kind of candidacy? If there is an intra-party competition, will this intra-party competition, the competition shown to be the party's candidate, be tough or soft? In other words, whichever it is, whether Biden continues or Kamala Harris comes, the Democratic Party's job is not easy at all after this stage.

I want to ask this: wouldn't this change be very risky with so little time left until the election? Because Trump has opened up quite a gap...

Whoever the candidate is, the Democrats' job is difficult; it seems like Trump is likely coming.

News Source : 12punto