Adding to the growing number of Western nations backing away from demands for immediate regime change in Syria, Turkish officials today insisted that they are willing for Assad to stay in power for six more months, so long as it is purely “symbolic.”
British officials had similarly expressed support for a plan that left Assad in power, provided he leaves “at some point.” Turkey says they’re talking to the US and other allies about this “plan” for Syria, and expects the US to sell the idea to Russia.
The timing in that regard probably isn’t promising, as Russia was pushing the idea of a transitional government with Assad temporary at the head for months, spurned repeatedly by the US, before joining the war against ISIS on Assad’s side.
At this point, Russia is likely too committed to supporting Assad to revisit their old idea, and will probably resent Turkey suddenly dictating six month deadlines to them on the matter. With pro-US rebels talking up suicide attacks against Russia, it will likely be a hard sell to convince Russia that the “moderate” rebels are suitable allies at any rate.
What right do these nations have to dictate to other nations?
None of course, but Turkey apparently thinks itself the voice of the West of all things.
None whatsoever. But Putin started all this by dictating to Ukraine. Now, he has everybody against him.
Above all, what rights Turkish Erdogan regime have to dictate the stay of the Syrian legitimate government or Syrian presidents, the question is, if the six months is passed and Syrian government still in power and Syrian people demanding it, then what! Is Turkish Erdogan regime willing to support other "kind" of barbarians to fight Syrian people? In the hand, Erdogan regime repeating what the new head of NATO been saying, which makes Erdogan regime a puppet of NATO, a regime with no respect for himself nor the Turkish people.
Well that's a sign that Russian and Kurdish operations are working. Of course who cares what Turkey thinks. Assad has to stay in power for a while, at least until the rebuilding of Syria beings and most likely until it's completed.
English translation: Putin has got himself thoroughly bogged down.
Funny. Turkey is now on the outside lookng in and hopes that the US will open the door for them. Won't happen. It's Putin's house now. Turkey's not the only one on the outside – Israel, Saudia Arabia, Jordan (soon). It's about time.
The Syrian People can decide who will govern them not Turkey or anyone has that right
Tell that to Putin!
Erdogan might be gone within a month.
In other words, Putin has well and truly painted himself into a corner and it suits all the other parties to let Assad stay just to keep Putin bogged down. The fun will come when Assad goes and Putin tries to turn the naval base into a sort of "Guantanamo". Problem is, he hasn't got an airbase on site and, in any event, needs Turkish permission to fly into it, and the nearest "safe" Russian port is … Murmansk! Just watch Putin making a complete mess of this!
And why would Erdogan even think it's in Turkey's national interest to weaken and destabilize Syria, when doing so only strengthens the hand of the Kurdish YPG, an armed, separatist movement closely aligned with Israel, whose parent organization is the terrorist PKK in Turkey? One reason might be that with Turkey — as with the US — history proves that the stronger a nation's "special relationship" is with Israel, the greater is its tendency to act in a manner contrary to its own national interest. Turkey, in short, has been bamboozled and led around by the nose every bit as much as the US.