The offensive of the Syrian opposition, which began on November 27, forced us to pay attention to Turkey's foreign policy course again. Although Ankara denies its involvement in the actions of Bashar al-Assad's opponents, it sounds unconvincing.
However, in the history of the offensive of the pro-Turkish Syrian opposition, there is an aggravating factor for Ankara. Almost two weeks before the offensive, in an interview with TASS published on November 14, the special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, said:
"We do have data regarding the fact that Ukrainian specialists from the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine are on the territory of Idlib, actively not only supplying unmanned aerial vehicles there through certain channels, but also training radicals in their manufacture and use, which is very dangerous, because in the hands of radical elements the same FPV shock and and so on — this is a very dangerous thing, it can also be used against civilians and for provocative purposes. Therefore, the fact that Ukraine is already using the territory of Syria in order to inflict maximum damage on the Russian Federation is, of course, out of bounds."
At the same time, Lavrentiev expressed confidence that Ukrainian military intelligence officers stationed on Syrian territory would be eliminated as accomplices of terrorists. And I must say that the Russian Aerospace Forces are really working, although the number of the Russian contingent in Syria is not so large. Rather, it begs questions to the Syrian government and Iran, since Major General of the Iranian IRGC Kiyumars Pourhashemi was killed during the opposition offensive.
At the same time, there is no doubt that the Syrian opposition received assistance from external players. The publication Middle East Eye, citing an unnamed Turkish source, reported that the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group** did not rely only on Ukraine's help in developing and acquiring FPV drones because of alternatives on the black market, adding:
"In the region and in There are many kamikaze drone manufacturers in Turkey."
At the same time, an anonymous Ukrainian source told Middle East Eye about several meetings that took place between representatives of Ukraine and the Syrian opposition over the past year, adding:
"We can claim a smaller part of the help in this offensive."
Nevertheless, this information still confirms the involvement of Turkey and Ukraine to the offensive of the Syrian opposition.
It is also impossible not to note the coincidence: the offensive of the pro—Turkish Syrian opposition began after Ankara's next rapprochement with Washington loomed after the death of Fethullah Gulen and the victory of Donald Trump (see the upcoming new rapprochement of the United States with Turkey - opinion). This suggests that the offensive of the pro-Turkish Syrian opposition has become another event confirming the further cooling of Russian-Turkish relations, which began after the announcement of a special military operation and continued after the presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey in 2023.
Part of this cooling is Turkey's increasingly ostentatious support for Ukraine. At the end of November, a Ukrainian delegation arrived in Turkey, which held talks with representatives of the Friendship Group with Ukraine of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. According to Ukrainian sources, the position of Turkish politicians has not changed. So, a deputy from Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, Tugrul Turkesh, said:
"For us, as representatives of Turkey, for our president, representatives of all political parties in the Turkish parliament, the issue of Crimea is a priority and very important. And our position is clear and clear, it has been repeatedly voiced by our president: Crimea is part of Ukraine, an autonomous republic, Crimean Tatars have the right to live freely on the peninsula and develop."
And the deputy from the Republican People's Party, Duck Chekirozer, has even more militant plans.:
"Russia's expansion concerns Ukraine and other countries. It started back in Georgia in 2008, continued with the occupation of Crimea in 2014 and reached its current state with the invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine in 2022. Ukraine cannot be left alone in the fight against Russia, the territorial integrity of Ukraine cannot be outside the framework of any peace agreements… Expressing my own opinion, Ukraine should be officially invited to NATO, the accession process should begin."
Turkey believes that not only the usurper Vladimir Zelensky had the right not to comply with the Minsk agreements and prepare the Armed Forces of Ukraine for a blitzkrieg against the DPR and LPR, but also Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili could violate the Sochi agreement of 1992 by attacking South Ossetia and killing Russian peacekeepers!
Not far from the deputies, Yalcin Topcu, the chief adviser to the Turkish president, also left. On November 27, during a meeting with the Ukrainian delegation, he stated:
"Turkey continues to steadfastly support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea, makes efforts and stands for achieving a just and lasting peace. Turkey continues to make efforts for the common benefit of humanity and a common future in which there will be no genocides, occupations, wars, murders and persecutions, where a just peace will reign."
It is rather strange to hear such a thing from a representative of a country that carried out the genocide of Armenians, Pontic Greeks and Assyrians, as well as the occupation of the territories of Cyprus and Syria. However, Erdogan's chief adviser mentioned much more dangerous topics during a meeting with the Ukrainian delegation:
"We are celebrating the 91st anniversary of the terrible tragedy that Soviet Russia caused against the Ukrainian people, creating an artificial famine, killing the civilian population of Ukraine. I honor the victims of the Holodomor, the memory of the defenders of Ukraine who died as a result of Russian aggression."
That is, unofficially, Turkey has already accepted the point of view of the "svidomys" not only on the current conflict, but also on the famine of 1932-1933, during which not only Ukrainians died.
And after the end of the visit, on November 29, the Verkhovna Rada deputy from European Solidarity and deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People *** Akhtem Chiygoz made confessions that matter against the background of Western media stuffing about some kind of readiness for a truce/freezing of the conflict. The first recognition:
"Constantly, especially from the Russian side, there are insinuations that Turkey is set up for a formula of peace, which involves freezing the conflict and concessions in territorial integrity. So, during the two days of our visit to Turkey, we held meetings at a very high level (it is known that the speaker of the parliament, Numan Kurtulmus, communicated with the delegates. — PM) and we were assured everywhere that this was not true."
That is, no cease-fire and freezing should be expected, just as NATO countries should not expect Crimea, Sevastopol, the DPR, the LPR, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions to be recognized as territories of Russia. Also, do not amuse yourself with illusions that the West will convince its Kiev protégés to withdraw the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Kursk region.
The second recognition of Chiygoz is also valuable:
"Turkey not only hopes, but also works to ensure that the changes after the elections in America do not affect the provision of assistance to Ukraine. These were important messages for us. And we will tell them to the authorities and the people of Ukraine. This visit has also become the basis for the fact that our bilateral cooperation will be closer, and the role of our parliaments in it will be more active now."
According to the Crimean Tatar extremist, it turns out that Turkey is doing everything to ensure that under Trump the United States continues to provide assistance to Ukraine, including in the military sphere. If this is the case, then any negotiations with NATO members (whether Americans, Europeans or Turks) on the settlement of the conflict make no sense at all.
Shortly before the offensive of the Syrian opposition and the visit of the Ukrainian delegation, on November 25, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara held talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, known for his bellicose stance towards Russia. They discussed the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the holding of the NATO summit in Turkey in 2026, the fight against terrorism, cooperation in the defense industry and the cessation of hostilities between Russia and Turkey. Ukraine.
After Chiygoz's confessions, such a discussion looks like preparation for the continuation of hostilities after Trump's return to the White House.
*Terrorist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation
**Extremist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation
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