Does Ankara really want to make peace with Assad?

When the Hamas-Israel war began on October 7, the genocidal Netanyahu said, “The response we give to Hamas will completely change the Middle East. Borders in the region will change.”

He set out to do exactly what he said, right before the eyes of the entire world. He did not just level Gaza and slaughter thousands of people, most of them children; he spread the fire to Yemen and Lebanon. Finally, he struck Iran at its heart by killing Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Recalling that threat from Netanyahu following the assassination, AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik made the assessment: “We are now in a new phase. Israel has started a regional war.”

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan emphasized that the “striking of three important places for Tehran (Tehran, Beirut, Iraq)” meant that “certain buttons were being pressed” and that “a serious mind that wants the war to spread is at work.”

Erdoğan, who visited Anıtkabir before yesterday's Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meeting, wrote in the Special Book: “We are determined to protect our homeland, our nation, our state, and our national interests to the end by taking every necessary measure against the expansionist ambitions that have resurfaced in recent days,” while the Ministry of National Defense drew attention to the increasing risk of the conflict spreading in the region.

WHILE THE ENCIRCLEMENT OF TURKEY IS BEING COMPLETED

What is our country's place in this scenario? Yesterday, Süleyman Seyfi Öğün from Yeni Şafak clearly drew this picture:

“Turkey is continuing its NATO membership, which is clearly only on paper, in a precarious way... CENTCOM’s support for the PKK continues to increase. Starting from Alexandroupoli, we are under a siege guided by the US and the EU, led by France, in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Israel-Greece-Southern Cyprus alliance are the overt elements of this siege. Relations with the Arab world have not yet improved to the desired level. We are on the opposing side to Iran and Russia in Syria... In the Caucasus, Armenia has still not signed the peace treaty. NATO is entering Armenia with its full body. We are in different positions there with Iran as well. But the most critical issue is the deep closeness between our ‘dear brother’ Azerbaijan and Israel. Turkey is the only NATO member state that has pursued a just and honorable policy against Israel since the beginning of the Gaza war. We also condemned the Haniyeh murder at the highest level and in the strongest terms. It should not be difficult to guess that Israel will not let this slide. Yes, in this act, the target is Iran. But it is certain that in the second act, this will be Turkey.”

No, the government and its media did not discover today that Turkey is also a target; since October 7, they have been talking about the “Greater Israel” project, explaining that Iraq and Syria were occupied within the scope of this project, that if precautions are not taken, it will be Turkey’s turn, and furthermore, that Cyprus is also within the scope of the “Promised Land.”

It was explained, but let’s look at what measures have been taken in the past 10 months.

When Erdoğan said, “We will not allow a ‘terroristan’ to be established beyond our southern borders, regardless of whose project it is. We will guarantee the security of our Iraqi border by this summer, and we will complete our unfinished business in Syria,” the date was March 18.

What was our “unfinished business” in Syria? The Operation Peace Spring, launched to create a safe zone in the region under the control of the PKK/YPG, had been stopped by the letter Trump sent to Erdoğan saying, “Don’t be a fool... I will destroy your economy!”

At the Efes military exercise on May 30, Erdoğan pointed out that an insidious plan directly targeting our country and our region was being implemented step by step in Syria and once again signaled an operation.

ASSAD WARNED 14 YEARS AGO

However, 1 month later, he began talking about meeting with Assad, also recalling the meetings they had as families in the past.

After the cabinet meeting on July 2, Erdoğan, in an effort to turn back from a very major historical mistake, summarized the following:

“The stones for the road leading to the First World War were laid in our region. The Second World War also had our region at its center. During the Cold War, one of the regions where inter-bloc competition intensified was again the geography where Turkey is at the center. The Syrian crisis, which has completed its 13th year, has affected our region the most... As long as the Israeli aggression under the Netanyahu administration is not stopped, no state in our region, including Turkey, can feel safe. This situation also applies to all countries, especially Lebanon and Syria, which are neighbors of Israel... We cannot allow the past to mortgage our future. With this understanding, we are striving to advance our relations with all actors in our region, starting with our neighbors... As a neighbor, we want to see a democratic, prosperous, and strong Syria, not one struggling with instability and where terrorist organizations run rampant... We believe that there is great benefit in opening clenched fists in foreign policy, just as in domestic politics. For this, we do not refrain from meeting with whomever needs to be met, just as in the past.”

While Erdoğan was talking about their family meetings, it would be remiss not to recall some of the warnings Assad made when he came to our country in 2010. He had said;

“The PKK is not an issue of today; we can trace it back to the Treaty of Sèvres... When viewed regionally, this problem cannot be solved without solving the Iraq problem. Once this problem is solved, the intervention of international powers can be prevented. Israel, for example. It has a role in Northern Iraq. Problems in the region are interconnected. The element that will contribute to the solution of the problems is for Turkey, Syria, and Iran to act together.”

Of course, those were the days when the “opening” process was being carried out with the PKK, and those who mentioned Sèvres were declared “Ergenekon” members and thrown into Silivri. Naturally, not only were these assessments by Assad ignored, but cooperation was made with imperialists, and a contribution was made to the fragmentation of Syria. Not to mention that we were forced to pay the biggest price for generations with millions of refugees.

IS IT BECAUSE BAHÇELİ WANTED IT?

After such a cost, it is unknown whether the call by MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, the partner of the People’s Alliance, on May 28 for “building a bridge of cooperation between Ankara and Damascus and conducting military operations in coordination against the terrorist organization” had an effect on this change in rhetoric towards Assad; but despite Erdoğan mentioning his intention to meet with Assad three more times last month and predictions such as “they will meet here, they will meet there,” there has been no development.

And guess what; which countries were most disturbed by the possibility of a Turkey-Syria rapprochement? Of course, Israel and the USA!

The same USA, just yesterday, welcomed the Turkey-Armenia normalization talks.

DID ASSAD CAUSE THE GREATEST HARM TO TURKEY?

We have conveyed above, from the mouths of the officials themselves, the point that the fire in our region has reached and will reach with the Ismail Haniyeh assassination.

While it has become inevitable for Turkey to do whatever it takes to fully cooperate with Syria and even Iran without wasting a day, wouldn't Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, to whom Erdoğan gave the task of ensuring a meeting with Assad, complain about Syria’s preconditions once again just yesterday and say the following?

“Making peace with the opposition is the regime’s problem. I can encourage this, but I cannot force it. We cannot agree with the regime and ignore the opposition; there is no such world. And there won’t be. What we want from the regime is to take the opposition as an interlocutor, see the problems, and start talking for a solution.”

They became “friends” in one fell swoop with the United Arab Emirates, whom they accused of financing the July 15 coup attempt, with Saudi Arabia, which murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the middle of Istanbul, and with Sisi and Haftar, whom they called “putschists,” but when it comes to Assad, they drag their feet like this.

If Ankara’s priority is still “regime opponents” when Turkey’s security is at stake, who will be the winner of this policy?!

Müyesser YILDIZ

August 2, 2024