Syria: What does Russia want from Turkey?

TURKEY - In Brief 07 Oct 2015 by Atilla Yesilada

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Man, Russia entered the Syrian equation in a big way, like an elephant enters a china shop to register wedding gifts. Kremlin is using an array of air assets to bomb all anti-Assad targets in the country, encouraged by which the regulars are attacking opposition forces around Hama and Idlip. Putin is inviting “volunteers” from Russia to fight for Assad. What does Russia want in Syria? I don’t think Kremlin entertains any hopes of winning the war for Assad, but is hoping to disrupt the existing balance of forces in a big way to cajole all actors to the peace table in a hurry. Putin’s preferred end-game may be a federate Syria, where Assad is still the titular head but actually only control the Alevite parts, the rest being devolved to Kurds and Sunnis. One actor Russia managed to irritate immediately is Turkey; the air force of is which has been harassed by Russian jets or Syrian ground-to-air missile radars six times to date in October. Ankara retorted to its traditional diplomatic approach: Issuing loud threats, crying for help, and letting everyone know that commercial interests will suffer. What does Russia want from Turkey? It is very simple. Turkey is the biggest instigator of anti-Assad forces in the immediate vicinity: · Despite stern –faced denials, the cooperation between Turkish secret services and El Nusra and Ahr-al Sham is well-documented. · While the ostensible enemy is ISIS, Turkey is one of the three training grounds for the Free Syrian Army, which may eventually be deployed against Assad · AKP is still touting its “safe zone” idea in the U.S. between Cerablus and Marea towns, which may lead to an irreversible split of Syria. If Turkey were to drop out ...