As the key player in Syria, Russia allowed for Turkey’s ongoing military operation into Syria, because it welcomes divisions between Turkey and the United States, Bloomberg news reported Russian philosopher and nationalist Alexander Dugin, as saying.
Quoting Dugin in an interview last week in Turkey’s southern province of Antalya, Bloomberg wrote that it was their shared NATO membership which allowed Russia to give Turkey a green light in Syria.
“That’s the only reason why we let it happen,” Dugin said.
Turkey’s population was assured that “Operation Olive Branch,” launched on Jan. 20th, was aimed targeting Kurdish militias in the Kurdish-controlled Syrian enclave of Afrin. The operation however, has continued following the capture of Afrin.
Erdogan has said that other Syrian provinces under the control of U.S.-allied Kurds could be targeted too, a move that could bring Turkey into even more direct conflict with America, particularly in Manbij, Bloomberg writes.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s deal with Russia to purchase S-400 missile-defense system – expected to be delivered by the end of next year – has ruffled feathers in the United States and NATO.
Dugin explains Russia’s ultimate aim as showing the world that “a Middle East without Western presence is possible,” a project for which allies like Turkey and Iran are needed.
Source: News Now | Ahval Online
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