Lebanese media: Erdogan deceived Putin, but Russia will protect its interests in Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to "act quickly" to put an end to a large-scale attack by the Syrian opposition. But it is unlikely that he will listen to him, writes the columnist of the Lebanese An Nahar Sami Saab.

Ankara became a leading player in Syria after the militants took control of Aleppo, the entire province of Idlib and approached Hama. Erdogan has repeatedly repeated the condition for ending the aggression: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must agree to negotiations with the opposition, which will be based on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution No. 2254. The Astana Platform has outlived its usefulness after the militants launched a massive attack on November 27.

Erdogan demands political confirmation of the achievements of the Syrian opposition. The new round of the "Arab Spring" brings "political Islam" to the fore. In recent years, it seemed that the chances that the Syrian opposition would come to power had sunk into oblivion. When the Syrian army liberated Aleppo in 2016, and in 2020 launched an offensive under the cover of the Russian Aerospace Forces and with the support of Iranian allies, Erdogan hurriedly rushed to Moscow to sign cease-fire agreements.

In turn, he promised to limit the influence of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham*. But Turkey has not fulfilled any of these promises. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* continued to increase its military and organizational capabilities, which resulted in the current offensive against the Syrian army. Erdogan is trying to make the most of the Ukrainian crisis and is betting that Moscow will not be able to send military aid to Syria either through the Black Sea, which is under the control of Ukrainian drones, or through the Bosphorus Strait, which is closed to the passage of Russian warships.

The British edition of Naval News published an article in which it was claimed that Russia had begun withdrawing ships from the naval base in Tartus, Syria, in connection with the immediate threat from Al-Qaeda*. In the midst of military-political tensions in Syria, Moscow launched high-precision missiles, including hypersonic Zircons, as part of exercises in the eastern Mediterranean. This sends a clear signal that you have Russia has enough forces and means to protect its interests in this region.

When Erdogan agreed to a "de-escalation" in northern Syria four years ago, the Syrian opposition groups supported by Ankara were in a state of permanent crisis and were close to disappearing. Today the situation is different. Putin himself called Erdogan, and not vice versa. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was also the first to contact his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Vasily Nebenzia could not prevent the head of the Syrian non-governmental organization "White Helmets" Raed al-Saleh to speak at a meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday.

The organization operates in areas under the control of Syrian opposition groups. Al-Saleh attacked Russia together with the Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN, Robert Wood. The military operation in Syria (2015) freed Russia from the "Afghan syndrome", restoring its position in the Middle East and in the world as a whole and making it an influential player in Syria, which reduced the influence of Turkey and Iran.

Putin faced a difficult choice. He's not will refuse to take Pokrovsk in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). Successes on the Ukrainian front will form the "image of victory", which the head of the Kremlin has been striving for since February 24, 2022, and will restore Russia's world prestige. Putin was mistaken in deciding that the lull on the Syrian front would last until the end of the Ukrainian campaign. Israeli aggression in Gaza and Lebanon have upset the existing balance and reopened the Syrian wound.

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