Category: Syria

Turkey, Russia converge on Syria and Iran crisis

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey and Russia had a similar stance on ending the bloodshed in Syria, adding that Turkey is ready to work with Russia on solving the crisis.

Davutoglu and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov also said the two countries have almost the same position regarding Iran.

“An immediate halt to the bloodshed and an implementation of the reform process in Syria is important. Turkey and Russia share a similar stance on these issues,” Davutoglu said on the close cooperation between Turkey and Russia on Syrian crisis, at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart.

“We are always ready to work with Russia, which has an important role in the region, to solve the Syrian crisis through intense dialogue. We believe Russia could make a significant contribution on this issue,” Davutoglu said, adding that they always back the Arab League initiative which aimed to end the regime crackdown on protesters, Anatolia news agency reported.

Lavrov echoed Davutoglu’s words, saying Russia and Turkey have a similar stance on Syria.

“Russia wants the bloodshed to end and we are in favor of a peaceful solution to the crisis through political means,” Lavrov said.

On Iran he also said Russia and Turkey had almost same position and that Russia wants this issue to be solved through diplomatic means. Lavrov revealed that they held the second meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group yesterday, saying Russia and Turkey were holding such meetings to converge on their positions.

Davutoglu said Turkey’s position with Russia was very similar on the Iran issue and talks on Iran’s nuclear program should resume rapidly. He said Turkey was ready to host the talks, if Iran returned to negotiation table. Lavrov confirmed that Russia was in favor of the nuclear talks being held in Turkey. Lavrov stated that Russia would consider “constructive proposals” to end the bloodshed in Syria but was opposed to force or sanctions.

via Turkey, Russia converge on Syria and Iran crisis.

January 27, 2012
DANGEROUS CROSSROADS: NATO launches radar in Turkey to target Russia, Iran and Syria

Sergei Balmasov, Beijing

Turkey has recently launched the early warning radar station, a part of NATO’s missile system, which the USA has been building near Russia’s borders. The radar station will be controlled from Germany. The station is located in the town of Malatya, which is 500 kilometers to the south-east of Ankara and some 700 kilometers from the border with Iran. Turkish and US servicemen will serve at the station.

Turkey agreed to deploy the radar station on its territory in September 2011. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan stated back then that the deployment of the radar in Turkey would be an important step for the whole region.

Data from the station will be transferred to command posts in the United States and to the ships equipped with the AEGIS system (a sea-based missile defense system). NATO officials stated that the radar station was deployed in Turkey in connection with the growing threat for Iran to use small and medium range missiles in the Middle East.

Several local politicians stood up against the deployment of the elements of NATO’s missile defense system in Turkey. They believe that the West would thus get Turkey involved in a possible conflict with Teheran.

Needless to say, Iran was strongly against the deployment of the missile defense system in Turkey. Iranian officials claimed that such a move could only exacerbate tension in the region. Turkish officials responded with saying that the deployment of the missile defense system elements was not aimed against any other country.

The deployment of the radar station raised concerns among other countries of the region indeed. The distance from the station to Syria, for example, is a bit more than 200 kilometers. Syrian President Bashar Assad pays a lot of attention to his missile potential. His generals are certain that hundreds of Syrian short-range missiles would guarantee no aggression against Syria. Syrian officials earlier stated that their country would shower Turkey and Israel with missiles in the case of aggression.

Moreover, many Syrian analysts say that the deployment of the radar station in Turkey proves the preservation of the military alliance between Ankara and Tel Aviv. Israel will also be receiving data from the Turkish radar.

Russia was not thrilled with the news either. NATO invited Russia to take part in the project, but the talks came to a standstill. Russia also tried to obtain legal guarantees saying that the system would not be aimed against her, but the US refused to do it.

NATO’s Secretary General Rasmussen set out a hope that an adequate political agreement with Moscow could be achieved before the Russia-NATO summit, which is to take place in Chicago in the spring of the current year. However, chances for that are slim, because Russia will only be able to play the role of a silent observer. NATO can only offer Russia to sit and watch its strength growing.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated in November 2011 that Russia would take a complex of measures in response to the deployment of the missile defense system in Europe. However, Konstantin Sivkov, the first vice president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, told Pravda.Ru that Russia had practically nothing to respond to the threat from NATO.

“As for Iskander systems, they can be used against the objects of missile defense in Poland. Iskanders would have to be deployed either in Russia’s Kaliningrad region or in Belarus. However, it will be impossible to hit the targets in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. The radius of Iskander complexes is 280 kilometers. In addition, the Americans believe that they will be able to neutralize this virtual threat with the help of ATACMS missile complexes.

“Russia will not be able to use nuclear weapons in this situation. We have our aviation, but I seriously doubt that Russian combat aviation will be able to win a battle just because of the enemy’s considerable superiority in the air.

“We can use cruise missiles. However, Russia does not have enough vessels to patrol NATO’s coasts. There are also strategic aircraft that can launch cruise missiles and remain invulnerable to the enemy. However, the Russian arsenal of cruise missiles is not enough either. Our missiles can not be compared to the Tomahawks that can strike targets at distances of up to 2,500 kilometers,” the expert said.

Sergei Balmasov

via The 4th Media » DANGEROUS CROSSROADS: NATO launches radar in Turkey to target Russia, Iran and Syria.

January 22, 2012
Tourism: Turkish hotelier to take legal action against Syria

(ANSAmed) – ISTANBUL, JANUARY 19 – Syria has “a malignant attitude” toward the Dedeman Hotels International, as well as other Turkish and foreign businesses active in the country, according to a press release yesterday by the company, a Turkish hotelier, whose hotel operating contracts were canceled by the Syrian government, as daily Hurriyet reports today. Contracts that granted the Istanbul-based Dedeman the right to operate hotels in three Syrian cities were canceled by the Syrian government in the last four weeks. The first contract regarding Dedeman Hotel Aleppo was canceled December 29, 2011, and contracts regarding Dedeman’s Damascus and Tadmur hotels were canceled Januariy 17, according to Sana, Syria’s official news agency. Dedeman has not yet received any official notice from Syria about the cancellations, the company said. “It is saddening to reflect its domestic political developments in business life this way. We will take every step to protect our legal rights,” said Tamer Yorukoglu, Dedeman Hotels & Resorts International CEO. Dedeman could not meet forecasts envisaged in the auction process due to an economic crisis that started in 2009 and the instability caused by the political developments which came about from the beginning of last year, Dedeman said.

The renovation of three hotels had be assumed by the Syrian Ministry of Tourism according to the contracts, but the obligation was fulfilled by the ministry, said the company, adding that renovation project for those three hotels was submitted to the tourism ministry, but no positive move was made. (ANSAmed).

January 20, 2012
Turkey and US ‘discuss no-fly zone’ for Syria

Zoi Constantine

Jan 13, 2012

BEIRUT // Nato members and some Gulf states are discussing possible military intervention in Syria, according to a senior Russian security official.

Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Security Council of Russia, said the United States and Turkey, both Nato members, were discussing the possibility of a no-fly zone.

“Working under the ‘Libyan scenario’, they intend to move from indirect intervention in Syria to direct military intervention,” said Mr Patrushev, former head of the FSB, the intelligence agency that succeeded the Soviet-era KGB.

There has been speculation that the crisis in Syria might follow a trajectory similar to the uprising in Libya, where a Nato-imposed no-fly zone and bombing campaign helped to topple Muammar Qaddafi.

Some Syrian opposition groups, including the Free Syrian Army, have been calling for a no-fly zone and buffer zones to assist the 10-month revolt against the regime of the Syrian president, Bashar Al Assad. Russia is expected to oppose any Nato role.

The Arab League has taken the lead in attempts to end the violence in which the United Nations estimates more than 5,000 people have died. The Syrian government says 2,000 soldiers and police have been killed since the uprising began in March.

An observer mission sent to Syria by the 22-member league to monitor its peace plan has been heavily criticised.

Anwar Malek, a league monitor from Algeria, quit on Wednesday and says three more of his colleagues have done the same. His claim could not be independently verified.

“We were giving them cover to carry out the most repugnant actions, worse than what was taking place before the monitors came,” Mr Malek said yesterday.

Mr Malek, who is now in Qatar, claims some monitors have been reporting to their own governments instead of to the Arab League.

An unnamed official at the Arab League dismissed the accusations, and said Mr Malek had been bedridden and was never in the field.

More than 400 people have been killed since the first monitors arrived on December 26, the UN says. At least 21 were killed yesterday, according to the Local Coordination Committees, a Syrian opposition group that documents the uprising and plans events on the ground.

Speaking in Abu Dhabi yesterday, Radwan Bin Khadra, an adviser to the Arab League secretary-general and head of its legal department, said he could not be sure no other observers would follow Mr Malek’s lead.

“We hope the mission continues and brings about results and that there is co-operation with them.”

He said the observers were scheduled to stay in the country until there was an end to the bloodshed, with political stability and a political solution. “The escalation of events is saddening,” he said.

Gerard Peytrignet, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s regional delegation in Kuwait, said ambulances were being prevented from reaching wounded civilians.

“We do not participate in fights, we have to be respected in all circumstances, we are not there to take sides, just help,” he said.

Meanwhile questions remain about who was behind a mortar attack in Homs on Wednesday that left at least eight people dead, including a French journalist, Gilles Jacquier, who was on a government-organised visit to the city.

The French government has called for an investigation into the bombing.

The state-run Syrian news agency, Sana, said the attack was carried out by an “armed terrorist group”. Some opposition groups have blamed the government.

The president, Mr Al Assad, has continued to maintain that foreign-backed extremist groups are behind the escalating violence.

[email protected]

* With additional reporting by Ola Salem in Abu Dhabi, Bloomberg and Reuters

via Turkey and US ‘discuss no-fly zone’ for Syria – The National.

January 13, 2012
Video: Turkey’s ‘Syrian intervention’ scenario

Turkey has been keenly watching events unfold in Syria, fearing its near-neighbor’s violence could spill over the border. However, there are fears that Turkish government may not be getting an accurate picture of what is really happening in Syria.

As soon as Syria’s president promised to completely revamp the constitution in an attempt to resolve the crisis in the country, Turkey expressed support for a humanitarian intervention, saying it must do all it can to prevent a civil war.

With the bloody status quo in the Syrian crisis having been maintained for months, there is a danger that violence may start spreading beyond the country’s borders.

And its close neighbor Turkey – once a close friend too – is now a harsh critic of Damascus.

“Syria’s first priority should be to listen to its people and meet their demands, not to denounce others; instead of massacring its people, it should listen to them,” says Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Faruk Logoglu, the deputy chairman of the Republican People’s Party in Turkey, is a harsh critic himself, but he is critical of the Turkish government.

Ankara is on the side of the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian National Council – a military and diplomatic force aimed at overthrowing the regime of Bashar al-Assad. It supports a “buffer zone” and a “humanitarian corridor” – which some fear could bring Turkish troops to Syrian soil.

“What does that mean according to international law? It means aggression against a country, it means war,” Faruk Logoglu says.

But any intervention would be different from the one in Libya – since Russia and China have made it clear: no more no-fly zone resolutions. It means the role of regional players like Turkey increases dramatically.

But Faruk claims Ankara’s behavior is irresponsible and risky.

“It is the larger implications beyond the bilateral context of Turkey and Syria as such. The situation in Syria must be handled with great care by all powers. And unfortunately I do not see that care, especially from the Turkish government,” he says.

Oytun Orhan works for the Middle East Strategic Studies Center, based in Ankara.

It is sponsored by the Turkish Foreign Ministry to help shape policy. And its opinion on Syria is clear.

“The regime of Syria is killing its own people,” says Oytun Orhan, Middle East analyst the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (ORSAM).

Or not always that clear.

“Nobody has objective information as to what is going on in Syria,” says Oytun Orhan.

The center’s specialists have not been to Syria for over a year.

It means the picture they paint for officials in Ankara is unlikely to be an accurate one.

The sources of some videos are often questionable, so it is easy to be misled or get a false picture of what is really happening.

Although that does not stop researchers from coming to firm conclusions.

“The military option, this is the last option Turkey does not want to see. But this is an option,” says Oytun Orhan.

Turkey may have declared it does not welcome a military solution to the Syrian crisis, but it has not ruled it out either, playing an “if” game: if there is massive migration from its troubled neighbor Turkey says it will have to protect its own people.

And while officially Ankara insists it wants peace and stability in the region, its troops are ready just kilometers from the border with Syria.

via Turkey’s ‘Syrian intervention’ scenario — RT.

January 12, 2012
Turkey again seizes Iranian weapons destined for Syria

Turkey again seizes Iranian weapons destined for Syria

Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — Turkey has reported the first seizure of an Iranian weapons

shipment to Syria in 2012.

Officials said four trucks loaded with Iranian military equipment were

stopped and impounded in the border province of Kilis on Jan. 10. They said

the equipment, destined for neighboring Syria, was sent to Turkish

authorities in Ankara for inspection.

“The four trucks were confiscated by customs,” Kilis Gov. Yusef Odabas

said. “They are alleged to be carrying military equipment.”

This marked the first Turkish seizure of Iranian military equipment to

Syria this year. At least three such seizures were reported last year amid the

revolt against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Diplomats said the government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has been

under strong pressure from the United States and NATO to halt Iranian

weapons shipments to Syria. They said Washington has been working to

intensify Turkish ground and naval operations as part of an embargo on the

Assad regime.

On Jan. 9, a U.S. delegation headed by Deputy Secretary of State William

Burns urged Ankara to also intensify sanctions on Iran. Turkey has been one

of the largest importers of Iranian crude oil and natural gas.

Odabas said Turkish customs officers confiscated the Iranian weapons

shipment at the Oncupinar crossing, located along the Syrian border. He said

the officers were tipped off by police of the approaching convoy.

via Turkey again seizes Iranian weapons destined for Syria | World Tribune.

January 12, 2012