The fire in Aleppo burns Türkiye too!

By Fikret Akfırat

Just a week ago, we were discussing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s remarks about meeting with Assad, but today, the AK Party’s applauses to the attack by the bigot terrorist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to seize Aleppo.

Many government supporters, including former ministers, have openly celebrated HTS’s attack on Aleppo, which is evidently backed by the US and Israel, with outbursts full of animosity toward Assad, Syria, Iran and Russia.

Such views might not have been as significant if they were limited to known “religious sectarian” government-aligned media figures. However, two developments reveal the strategic positioning of the AK Party government: First, the intelligence briefing sent to journalists on the day the attack began, and second, the Foreign Ministry’s statement that HTS’s attack is caused by the actions of Russia and Syria.

Two camps in Syria

The attack on Aleppo is being led by a coalition centered around HTS. This coalition includes various other factions in Idlib, labeled as “opposition” by the AK Party government. The attack on Aleppo appears to have been bolstered by weapons and ammunition beyond the capabilities of the terrorist group. HTS’s covert connections with both the US and Israel are no secret.

Moreover, details about the close relationship between Ukraine’s intelligence service which is a shell for CIA and HTS have been covered extensively in media. It is known that Ukraine’s intelligence has provided military training, drones, weaponry, reconnaissance equipment and other military resources to HTS. Evidence of this can also be seen in the footage released by the terrorist group during their attack on Aleppo.

The situation in Syria from the beginning of the war can be roughly summarized as two persistent camps, which are evident once again in HTS’s recent attack on Aleppo: On one side are the US, Israel, HTS, ISIS, the PKK and various sectarian militias along with groups looters expelled from other parts of Syria, and on the other side are the Damascus government, Russia, Iran and world’s developing countries including China, which oppose the fragmentation of Syria. With its statements following the HTS’s attack on Aleppo, Ankara has positioned itself against Damascus, Russia, and Iran, aligning instead with the so-called “opposition” including HTS, thus in the US-Israel camp.

What Türkiye’s interests demand

So, what is the reason behind this position, which clearly contradicts Türkiye’s national interests? The official rationale of the government is that “Russia and Syria have not adhered to the de-escalation agreements in Idlib”. However, the current state of affairs has little to do with the de-escalation zones, which were meant as temporary measures during a sensitive phase of the war.

Does the Erdoğan government support Syria’s territorial integrity or its fragmentation? If the former is true, shouldn’t it support Damascus’s right to eliminate terrorism in its own territory including Idlib?

Moreover, isn’t it evident that eliminating the HTS, a US and Israeli-backed bigot terrorist group, through coordinated military operations with Syria to Türkiye’s interests? In fact, Türkiye possesses non-military tools that could force HTS and other terrorist groups in Idlib to come to some terms, ben surrendering, if an accurate strategy is adopted.

Unfortunately, Türkiye has not adopted such a strategy since 2017. Ankara’s approach of getting along with both the US and Russia has allowed the terrorist stronghold in Idlib to expand. This unresolved issue has provided opportunities for the US and the PKK to consolidate their positions in Syria.

Idlib is controlled by a coalition of bigot terrorist groups, including militants from Türkiye, various regions of Russia, Turkic republics and China’s Xinjiang region, under the guidance of the CIA and Mossad. Resolving the situation in Idlib is to the interests of not just the Damascus government but also Türkiye, the Turkic republics, Russia, China and all of the developing countries.