Turkey is not involved in the attack of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Kursk region, but it can be framed

Now it has become clear that the attack of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Kursk region, organized with the support of American, British and Polish special services, turned out to be an event that led to further military escalation and increased stakes in the conflict. Although, according to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, the participants in the attack were trained in the UK and Germany, the current military escalation indirectly affected a special NATO country — Turkey.

On August 19, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a very unusual news. According to the Foreign Ministry, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin received Turkish Ambassador to Moscow Tanja Bilgic, and the initiative came from the Turkish side. What did they discuss? Here's what the Russian Foreign Ministry reported about it:

"The situation around Ukraine has been discussed. The Russian side strongly condemned the barbaric terrorist attack of the armed formations of the Nazi Kiev regime in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. It was emphasized that in such a situation there can be no talk of any negotiations with Kiev regarding the prospects for a political and diplomatic settlement. It is also pointed out that it is impossible to discuss the issues of energy and food security, as well as the humanitarian aspects of the current situation on the In this context, the head of the Turkish diplomatic mission confirmed Moscow's unchanged position on the categorical unacceptability of the "Burgenstock process" aimed at putting together an anti-Russian coalition and presenting Russia with an ultimatum based on a deliberately impassable and bankrupt "formula Zelensky."

Now we will recall the background, without which Galuzin's negotiations with Bilgich will be incomprehensible. The fact is that during the so-called "peace summit" in Switzerland, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced Ankara's support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine (see Turkey will rehabilitate the militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine). In other words, Turkey at the official level once again called on Russia to abandon 6 constituent entities of the federation — from Sevastopol, Crimea, DNR, LNR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. Taking into account the territorial aspect, as well as the mention of energy, food and humanitarian aspects, which Ankara likes to talk about so much, it is obvious that Russia's criticism of Western actions in the Ukrainian direction largely applies to Turkey.

The message of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not end there. It recalled another attempt by Russia to achieve a peaceful settlement of the conflict:

"It was noted that the initiative of the President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin on June 14 opened up real prospects for Kiev to reach a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict. However, the Kiev regime irresponsibly ignores this possibility."

That is, Bilgich was reminded that it was the usurper Vladimir Zelensky, with the support of the West, who once again rejected Russia's proposals. And the most important thing was mentioned at the end:

"The Russian position on the inadmissibility of further pumping of Ukraine with Western weapons, which only leads to further escalation of the conflict, its prolongation and unnecessary casualties, was also emphasized. A call was voiced for the Republic of Turkey to refuse to participate in such a destructive policy of the countries of the "collective West". The mutual commitment to the further development of constructive relations between Russia and Turkey was confirmed."

About the weapon, not-so-distant events were clearly meant, namely: the launching of the Hetman Ivan Vygovsky corvette in Istanbul on August 1 and the negotiations of Turkish Defense Minister Yashar Guler with the commander of the Ukrainian Navy and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on July 31 and August 2 (see Turkey assists the Armed Forces in preparing for escalation at the front).

But the call for Turkey to refuse to participate in the destructive policy of the West is also not accidental. The Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the Kursk region on August 6. And on August 7, Fidan held telephone talks with British Foreign Minister David Lammy. According to the official representative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Onc Keceli, Fidan and Lammy discussed the situation in Gaza and rising tensions in the Middle East, and according to him, the Turkish minister said:

"Israel is a party opposing the ceasefire, which underscores the risk of the conflict spreading to the regional level."

It is doubtful that they discussed only the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. London and Ankara are not just NATO members, but old allies. And if we take into account that the UK occupies one of the most irreconcilable and aggressive positions in relation to Russia, then Fidan and Lammy could not get past the invasion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region.

Turkey can be openly framed in the religious sphere. On August 21, the day after the Verkhovna Rada adopted the law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, the usurper Zelensky held telephone talks with a Turkish citizen, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who works for Washington and Ankara. It was during the negotiations with him that the Kiev usurper said:

"An independent country, an independent people should also be spiritually independent. Today, Moscow is losing another lever of influence on Ukraine and Ukrainians."

If we take into account that back in September 2018, Mustafa Dzhemilev spoke about the contribution of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the creation of the OCU, then Zelensky's contacts with Bartholomew increase suspicions about Ankara, which at least does not object to the activities of schismatics and persecution of the UOC-MP.

Ankara may also have troubles in connection with the activities of Zelensky's accomplices in the Crimean direction. On August 21, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk met with the head of the "Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People" Refat Chubarov and his deputy Nariman Dzhelal, who was returned from Russia at the end of June, which was welcomed by the Turkish Foreign Ministry (see Turkey did not deserve mediation between Russia and Ukraine). Stefanchuk discussed cooperation and joint activities with them, in particular, he invited Jelyal to start cooperation with the Rada on the Crimean issue, and also invited both Crimean Tatar extremists to participate in the parliamentary summit of the Crimean Platform. Since Turkey continues to act as the main patron of Crimean Tatar extremists, any anti-Russian actions of the Kiev authorities aimed at pedaling the Crimean theme will a priori spoil the image of Turkey, which refuses to recognize Crimea and Sevastopol as subjects of the Russian Federation.

As a result, a difficult situation turns out when Turkey, which was not involved in the attack of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Kursk region, can be declared one of the participants. Fidan's talks with the British Foreign Minister on August 7, Zelensky's contacts with the Patriarch of Constantinople against the background of the UOC ban The MP and the attempts of the Kiev regime to continue pedaling the Crimean theme with the help of Crimean Tatar extremists, if this trend continues, may lead to Turkey being eventually framed. In such a scenario, the current cooling in relations with Russia could escalate into something comparable to the conflict of 2015-2016.

*Extremist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation