Erdogan went on the attack: Turkey cannot be stopped by military methods
Turkey intensified attacks on the positions of the Syrian army after the ultimatum put forward by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who demanded that the Syrians retreat beyond the line of encircled Turkish observation posts, expired.
Thus, Türkiye attacked the Nairab airfield near Aleppo. Serious damage was reported - Syrian air defenses were unable to repel the attack.
And on the southern sector of the front, the Turks began shelling from multiple launch rocket systems.
Missile strikes against Syrians are carried out, among other things, from Syrian territory.
Political scientist Fyodor Lukyanov explains the purpose of Ankara's risky game.
“It seems that before the announced meeting between Erdogan and Putin, at which new parameters of relations between the two countries in Syria will be discussed, Ankara has decided to achieve maximum military advance. There are several goals.
One natural thing is to improve the conditions for political bargaining, this is a common tool in this kind of conflict. The further you move on earth, the more room you have to maneuver at the table.
The second is to clearly demonstrate that Syria is not an enemy for Turkey, but seeds, and if there were no Russians behind Assad, there would be no wet spot left for him. It was no coincidence that Erdogan told Putin that, well, leave us alone.
The third is to respond to your public opinion. The operation in Idlib is unpopular and incomprehensible to the general public (with the invasion of the Kurdish regions of Syria everything was different - there was no doubt about the meaningfulness of the actions). The losses are big. It is necessary to at least show that the answer was crushing and that the dead were avenged.
Erdogan can retreat only based on the results of negotiations with Putin, and if he can defend positions that can be presented as fundamental concessions to Moscow. Until then there will be pressure.
Turkey, of course, does not want and does not intend to fight with Russia, so let’s hope that both sides are taking appropriate precautions so as not to accidentally collide. But the game is extremely tough, there is no doubt about that. It’s risky,” says Lukyanov.
Military correspondent Igor Dimitriev believes that Turkey cannot be stopped by military means.
“For some reason, the losses of the Turkish army in recent days have assured many experts (it was necessary to put them in quotation marks) that “here it is, your vaunted second NATO army, has arrived and gone!” Like, now we’ll put it in the palm of the Russian air defense and slam it with the palm of the VKS. Some went so far as to reconsider the Russian-Turkish wars and find only Russian victories in them. This is wrong.
And now, it turns out, Turkey was only testing the waters and did not fully enter the war. Let me remind you that Turkey is a regional leader, a developed country with a large, well-armed and motivated army, the bases of which are located in close proximity to the conflict zone. All the necessary infrastructure is there, and the logistics have probably been worked out in advance. The territories occupied by the Turks have also been developed, with infrastructure and a loyal population. After the losses among the Turks, public opinion is ready for war. The management is ready to play for aggravation.
What do we have? Syrian army. Good guys, their boys. They will come under heavy attack.
Khmeimim air base with a limited air group. Let me remind you that the naval base is supplied through the straits. Special Operations Forces. And a small number of employees of private military companies. How to stop the Turks? What to do if they close the straits? They cover the sky. If they trample not with squads of cliquey Iddibi gopniks, but with their military machine. Don't know. Throwing a nuclear bomb at Istanbul? Launch a strategic air strike on the territory of a NATO member country? Are you normal?
In this case, the Turks can be stopped only by non-military methods. Hitting them with the forces available in Syria will only worsen the situation.
Probably, ours have these non-military methods of solution. At least it looked like this when the Idlib operation began. To be honest, I was very surprised by her. Ours were inclined to compromise with Turkey in previous situations and it is clear why - the reasons are at the top. But this time they were punished quite harshly. Probably, the Ministry of Defense has better experts than those on TV, and there is a cunning calculation, we know a lot about it and all that.
As for NATO, don't be fooled by its passive stance. The conflict between Turkey and Russia fits well into their plans. These guys definitely have calculations. And the withdrawal of American troops, declared six months ago, pushed for exactly this – to come out and butt heads,” says Dimitriev.
Erdogan goes on the attack: Turkey cannot be stopped by military means.