Turkish Aggression v. Russia's War on Terrorism in Syria

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Over the weekend, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is involved in Syria to continue combatting terrorists, adding:

The Erdogan regime "failed to implement its commitments and terrorists have gone over to the offensive against Syrian armed forces" — with his active support.

Russia and Iran are the only countries involved in Syria's liberating struggle at the behest of Damascus.

"Servicemen of all other countries…in Syria (are) in violation of the norms and principles of international law," Peskov stressed.

Separately, Russian reconciliation center in Syria head Admiral Oleg Zhuravlev said "the command of the Russian task force cannot guarantee safety of flights by Turkish planes over Syria" as its government declared it closed to aircraft considered hostile.

Uninvited aircraft entering Syrian airspace over Idlib and surrounding areas will be shot down.

On Sunday, a Syrian military source said six Turkish drones involved in attacking government forces were downed.

Syrian ground forces recaptured the strategic town of Saraqib from US/Turkish backed jihadists, Russian warplanes aiding the offensive.

According to Southfront, "Turkish state media accidentally released a video showing the real face of Turkish-backed 'democratic fighters' – the great guys with ISIS insignias."

On March 1, Turkey's war minister Hulusi Akar said so-called Operation Spring Shield (code language for naked aggression on sovereign Syria) was launched — Syrian forces countering it.

So are Russian aerial operations, targeting US/Turkish supported jihadists, aiding government troops combat them.

Turkish forces embedded with terrorists are in harm's way, further casualties in their ranks virtually certain as long as Erdogan's aggression in Syria continues.

It's all about his revanchist aims — unrelated to Turkish national security, self-defense, or concern for Syrian refugees he doesn't give a damn about and never did throughout years of war.

He falsely claimed regime forces invaded cross-border at the request of the "Syrian people" and will only leave if they request it — a whopper of a bald-faced Big Lie even for him, a notorious serial liar like Trump.

According to NYT propaganda, supporting Turkish aggression instead of forthrightly denouncing it, the Erdogan regime "launch(ed) a major 'counteroffensive against the Syrian government," adding:

Turkish troops aim "to end the war and stop a Syrian government offensive that was displacing thousands of Syrians."

Actions by Erdogan escalated conflict, proving he's a mortal enemy of regional peace, stability, and sovereign Syria.

Government forces are liberating civilians from US/Turkish supported jihadists, not "displacing" them.

The Times: Turkish forces attacked government troops "in and around Idlib and farther afield, including on a chemical weapons storage facility south of Aleppo" — that doesn't exist.

Along with the Trump regime, NATO, and Israel, Erdogan is waging war on Syria without declaring it.

Whether Putin can restrain him when both leaders meet in Moscow later this week remains unknown.

Downing a few of his warplanes and smashing his forces embedded with jihadists would deliver a message more clearly than whatever is discussed by both leaders later this week.

Like the US, the only language Erdogan understands is toughness. 

Delivering it strong enough a few times or more could be a wakeup call — diplomacy a waste of time when dealing with despotic regimes like the US, Israel and Turkey.

VISIT MY WEBSITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

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