- Jan 12, 2012
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Turkey PM accuses Russia of seeking 'ethnic cleansing' in Syria
ISIS is now an ethnic group?
Turkey PM accuses Russia of seeking 'ethnic cleansing' in Syria
ISIS is now an ethnic group?
That's actually an interesting question, if we parse it in terms of Sunni/Shia.
But, I think Turkey's point is that Russia isn't only attacking Daesh. If they're going after Turkmen, which they probably are, then that is arguably an ethnic group.
I see a complex web here in which Turkey is more interested in furthering the interests of Turkmen, domestic and foreign and conversely opposing Kurds, domestic and foreign, that it is about ISIS or any other threat which would appear to be a far more immediate problem. This leads me to question whether Erdogan is an idiot or has no problem with the worst traits of conquering, caliphate-establishing, head-lopping Islam.
Well, I would say that a bit differently. The "ethnic cleansing" line is for internal consumption. There's generations of emotional baggage attached to that idea in Turkey, and the nearby parts of Russia, too, for that matter.
Erdogan is Muslim (I assume). But he also understands that secular politics is more responsible for his continuing success than religion.
The reason we, and others, have trouble with Erdogan is that he is taking Turkey away from the secularism.
The reason we, and others, have trouble with Erdogan is that he is taking Turkey away from the secularism.
That'll be a hard case for him to make now, though, right? He will have to distance himself from fundamentalism.
I would only disagree with that to the extent I would say he was more balancing along a thin line. Turkey was feeling a renewed, faith-based politicking. But, he also allowed US/allied resources in and over Turkey to be committed to the fight against Daesh.
Ultimately, he's a national politician. He needs to be able to play many different cards. I do not believe him to be a hardline islamist.
No, but left to his own devices he would lean farther that way then would make his allies comfortable.
But Turkey relies on Russia for $20 billion of natural gas every year. If that flow is even slightly altered, even for a single day—Turkey will grind to a halt. That natural gas engines Turkey’s electric grid.
Gas is next. Russia will start pulling it. They have already cancelled work on the underwater gas pipeline which, together with the nuclear electric plants, would eventually make Turkey more energy independent.
Turkey cannot get that much gas replaced. They are in public conflict not only with Russia but also with alternative suppliers. They sided with the Muslim Brotherhood so Egypt will not supply them. They have been very aggressively critical of Saudi Arabia so they will not supply them. There is always Israel and Israel could, potentially, help supply Turkey’s natural gas needs—but Turkey, a former ally of the Jewish state, has been openly hostile to Israel.
A Russian missile cruiser and a coast guard powerboat had to intervene after a merchant vessel flying the Turkish flag blocked a convoy transporting two drill platforms to a new location in Moscow's territorial waters.
Trifkovich explained, that the Montreux Convention (signed in 1936) is subject to renewal every 20 years, so in 2016 the convention will be re-signed.
“Obviously, this would be a handy time for the Turks to start raising tension and to start claiming that the number of incidents – for which they, of course, would blame the Russian side – indicates the need to impose some as yet unknown restrictions on the passage of the Russian warships through the straits,” Trifkovich said, stressing that in the past similar incidents were quite rare.
"The Turks", he said, had "decided to lick the Americans in a certain place".
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He said he saw "no prospect" of ties improving with Turkey - which Russia has put under sanctions - under its current leaders.
There was, he said, a "creeping Islamisation of Turkey that would have Ataturk rolling in his grave".
- Praised Sepp Blatter and suggested the suspended head of Fifa should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
- Denied Russian regular troops were deployed in rebel-held eastern Ukraine but said there could be "people there who were carrying out certain tasks including in the military sphere"
Relations between Turkey and Russia took a hit after the Turkish Air Forces (THK) shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border in late November. Since then, the decades-old conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh has escalated, with Azerbaijan firing from tanks for the first time since the early 1990s. Last week, Yerevan announced that the cease-fire, which technically halted fighting in 1994, if not totally erasing clashes, is no longer in effect.
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The Turkish, Georgian and Azerbaijani defense ministers held a meeting in Turkey to discuss cooperation against regional threats. Then Russian and Armenian defense ministers signed a treaty on Wednesday to create a joint regional air defense system. The main target of the cooperation was no secret.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]A Russian military official told the pro-Moscow Sputnik news agency at the time the treaty is aimed against Turkey.[/FONT]
Turkish-Russian tension spills into South Caucasus
The Nagorno-Karabakh issue is interesting on several levels. But...
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Armenia and Turkey have a long standing and deeply rooted enmity. There is some evidence that it might actually be genetic.
The enmity comes from the fact that Turkey committed genocide in Armenia in an attempt to exterminate them. I don't blame the Armenians for still being pissed. To this day Turkey still denies it happened, despite evidence to the contrary.