Since shooting down a Russian SU-24 fighter jet Nov. 24, 2015 for briefly entering Turkish air space, Russian President Vladimir Putin put Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on notice that any more aggression would result in a Russian military response. Erdogan walks a dangerous line as a member of NATO provoking Russia into retaliatory action. Erdogan’s shoot down of the Russian jet was entirely unjustified whether or not the SU-24 strayed into Turkish air space. Active war zones create many inadvertent violations of air space without incidents. Putin accused Erdogan of buying-transporting-and-selling cheap oil from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, raising tensions between the two countries. While Erdogan insisted Putin has “no proof,” he never denied his son Bilal Ergogan actively runs an energy business, transporting oil from Iraq into Turkey.
After shooting down the Russian jet last November, Russia deployed S-400 heat-seeking missiles to Syria to defend against future Turkish F-16 attacks. Deploying Russia’s advanced SU-34 jet fighters, Putin’s ready for any aggression by Turkey or any other NATO member. While NATO defended Turkey’s right to defend its air space last November, NATO has limited resources to defend Turkey in a military skirmish with Russia. “The Russian Defense Minister registers a growing number of signs of hidden preparation of the Turkish armed forces for active actions in the territory of Syria,” wrote the Russian Foreign Ministry. Syria has an ax to grind in Syria backing the Saudi-funded insurgency to topple Syria President Bashar al-Assad. Putin said Iran—a fellow Shiite nation—backs al-Assad’s Shiite government against a well-funded, five-year-old Saudi-backed Sunni insurgency.
Erdogan’s Salafist Muslim country is joined at the hip with Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi regime, sabotaging al-Assad’s Shiite regime. Meeting in Geneva to resolve the five-year-old Syrian war, U.N. Envoy Staffan de Mistura hopes to get all sides on the same page. He expects al-Assad to agree with the Saudi-backed Wahhabi opposition groups to accept regime change in Damascus. Erodgan’s dog in the fight hinges on his family’s oil business with ISIS, the radical Wahhabi group capturing some 30% of Iraq’s and Syria’s sovereign land, killing 250,000 and displacing 2 million more to neighboring countries and Europe. De Mistura and Secretary of State John Kerry know that Syria, Russia and Iran will never accept Turkey and Saudi Arabia’s formula for peace: Turning Syria into a Sunni regime. Holding Geneva “peace talks” offers little hope to resolve the Syrian war.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey won’t admit that Syria has no “civil war” but defends itself against a well-funded Salafist and Wahhabi insurgency, seeking to topple al-Assad’s Shiite government. While Putin isn’t invested in the Sunni-Shiite conflict, he has army, navy and air forces bases in Syria. Unlike Riyadh that funds proxy war around the planet, Turkey has military objectives in Syria running counter to alleged U.S. foreign policy of battling ISIS. Putin has endured his share of criticism for bombing Saudi-backed opposition groups seeking to topple al-Assad. Putin’s concern about Turkey’s military build up near Syria should worry the Kurds more than Moscow. While fighting along Iraqi forces to take back lost Iraqi and Syria territory, the Kurds have only endured attacks by the Turks and Saudis. Iraq’s Kurdish Leader Massud Barzani called today for an independent Kurdish state.
Turkey’s alliance with Saudi Arabia can’t mask its support of Saudi-backed Sunni opposition seeking to install a Wahhabi regime in Damascus. U.S. officials, led by Kerry, have a hard time admitting that Turkey and Saudi Arabia have destabilized the region battling al-Assad. Meeting with Kerry in Moscow Dec. 15, 2015, it’s taken the U.S. Statement five years to figure out that Saudi Arabia and Turkey have destabilized the region. However one dislikes al-Assad, it’s undeniable that he’s defending his U.N.-backed Shiite government against a Saudi-funded proxy war. Putin wanted Kerry to acknowledge that toppling al-Assad would destabilize the region worse than the ISIS takeover of parts of Iraq and Syria. Doling out untold amounts of cash, it’s difficult for the U.S. or other Western powers to tell the Saudis “no,” especially about imposing their agenda in the Mideast.
NATO officials should put Turkey on notice that the alliance won’t tolerate provocative acts toward Russia. Refusing to grant Russian observation flights over Turkey breaches the Treaty of Open Skies, allowing flyover rights from non-hostile countries. “The Russian Defense Ministry regards these action of the Turkish party as a dangerous precedent and an attempt to hide the illegal military activity near the Syria border,” said Moscow, concerned that Turkey plans to place ground troops to help Saudi-backed oppositions groups in Syria. Russian Defense Ministry Igor Konashenkov said Russia carried out 237 sorties in the last three days, allowing the Syrian military to retake provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, Homs, Hama and Deir al-Zor. Turkey rejects Russia’s help to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, joining Saudi Arabia in insisting that al-Assad step down.
