Russia and Turkey Drift Toward War

Russian officials and the pro-Kremlin press have been praising the successful offensive against Idlib by troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The northwestern Syrian province is the last stronghold of the anti-al-Assad opposition. All other such opposition-held areas across Syria have already been overrun and mostly devastated by forces loyal to Damascus, aided by Iranian-backed Shia militias and massive bombing campaigns carried out by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-Kosmicheskiye Sily—VKS). As “de-escalation” zone after “de-escalation” zone was retaken by the Syrian government and its on-the-ground allies, opposition fighters and civilians taking refuge there were given the option to surrender heavy weapons and be bussed into Idlib. Eventually, these wartime resettlements more than doubled the province’s estimated prewar population of 1.3 million. The al-Assad regime, with Russian support, is now pushing into the Idlib zone, taking over town after town, pressing the opposition against the Turkish border. In August 2019, the SAA captured Khan Sheikhoun, a settlement south of Idlib on the strategic M5 highway from Damascus; and on January 28, 2020, it took Maarat al-Numan—Idlib province’s second-biggest city, also located on the M5 (Kommersant, February 13).

SOURCE

A long-developing proxy clash in Syria between Russia and Turkey is “very much moving into crisis mode,” a senior American diplomat said amid reports that Turkish troops were attacked in an airstrike. “Oh my gosh,” Kay Bailey Hutchison, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, exclaimed Thursday when she learned from journalists that more than 20 Turkish service members reportedly have been killed. “Let me say this because I just learned this: Of course, everything is on the table. This is a new development. This is a big development.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called an emergency meeting of his national security team late Thursday as local media reported that Russia targeted a Turkish command post in Idlib.

'Oh my gosh': US ambassador stunned by report of attack on NATO ally Turkey


ARE WE PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS? I am finding reports of Russians and Turkish are fighting in Syria.... within the past 24 hours...

a reply to: Bicent

Meh. Turkey's been needing a fresh one to the mouth for awhile now. Let the Russians do it, see how fast Turkey wants to be our bestest buds after the Saudis again.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

They are part of NATO....

🤦‍♂️

originally posted by: Bicent
a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

They are part of NATO....

🤦‍♂️

So?

NATO has no issues against getting smacked after you go into the fray.

Non NATO issue.

originally posted by: Bicent
a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

They are part of NATO....

🤦‍♂️

We had a treaty with Ukraine to protect their sovereignty if they surrendered their nukes.

Treaties don't mean squat.

a reply to: Bicent

I'll be honest.......the words NATO ally and Turkey are a bit like 2+2=5, they just don't compute. So yeah, If Russian sits Turkey on it's arse, I'm cool with that.

P.S. Yes, I realise NATO is not actually a word and if you point that out, you're a dick.

a reply to: myselfaswell

NATO is a defensive pact. If two nations are in NATO, they cant go to war with each other. NATO will intervene. If someone outside of NATO attacks the NATO country we are duty bound to intervene. THAT SAID, if a NATO country is operating outside their borders in sovereign territory, and that Nation state, asks for help to rebel them, so be it. NATO is DEFENSIVE not Offensive. If Russia hit Turkish territory, that's a different matter, until they do. NATO can't do squat. Turkey sent "Volunteers" into Syria, not military, they are not at war with Syria, and Syria did not invade Turkey. Syria doesn't want them there, and they are pushing all non loyal people out of the country or forcing surrender. I say good for Syria on re-establishing their borders.

Camain

Lmao, I just posted the topic. It’s news.. Did not see it in the forums, and it looks like it’s going to escalate. Kill game, check out the news give it a star or flag, or don’t, no need to argue about the news. Thanks. 👍 yes thou they are a NATO ally.



UPDATE

Turkey has reached out to NATO and the US following the deaths of its troops in Syria’s Idlib province, fueling speculation that it might invoke Article 5 and get the alliance involved in a shooting war with Damascus – and Russia.

SOURCE

originally posted by: CriticalStinker

originally posted by: Bicent
a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

They are part of NATO....

🤦‍♂️

We had a treaty with Ukraine to protect their sovereignty if they surrendered their nukes.

Treaties don't mean squat.

You're right. The United States has broken almost every treaty it's been party to.

ON TOPIC:

Perhaps the US knew this was coming and stepped out of the way.

Possibly a major part of removing their nukes from Incirlik Air Base??🤷🏽‍♂️

a reply to: EternalShadow

I dunno, it’s something we should be watching, crap happens, when the world is focused on a pandemic. Bit of a escalation over there, take it seriously or not. 🤷‍♂️ It’s the news.

originally posted by: peck420

originally posted by: Bicent
a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

They are part of NATO....

🤦‍♂️

So?

NATO has no issues against getting smacked after you go into the fray.

Non NATO issue.

Article 6 1
For the purpose of Article 5, an armed attack on one or more of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack:

on the territory of any of the Parties in Europe or North America, on the Algerian Departments of France 2, on the territory of Turkey or on the Islands under the jurisdiction of any of the Parties in the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer;
on the forces, vessels, or aircraft of any of the Parties, when in or over these territories or any other area in Europe in which occupation forces of any of the Parties were stationed on the date when the Treaty entered into force or the Mediterranean Sea or the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer.

syria is just barely north of the tropic of cancer.

Well, that's interesting.

Didn't Turkey purchase some S-400 missile systems from Russia not too long ago?

I guess influence is thicker than money when it comes to Russia strengthening it's geopolitical position.

Maybe a little retribution for that time Turkey shot down that Russian warplane a few years ago.

a reply to: camain

NATO will intervene

At best, in the first instance, the only thing that'll happen is a lot of chests being puffed out and some rhetorical "OI, WTF ARE YOU DOING", type of stuff. Then Turkey will start whining to NATO about retaliatory action, to whit said body will respond, if you're gonna poke a wasps nest.....etc etc bla bla bla.

a reply to: Bicent

Everyone is against Turkey being in NATO. If China can except NK for first attack, so can NATO. If NATO says no, I'd expect a huge civil war in NATO countries. NATO is not in command of civilian dignity.

a reply to: makemap

Well I dunno that’s not part of the news. The politics is they are part of NATO. thank you for contributing.

a reply to: gpols Maybe Turkey can get in our better graces by letting us check out the S400's?

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

Meh. Turkey's been needing a fresh one to the mouth for awhile now. Let the Russians do it, see how fast Turkey wants to be our bestest buds after the Saudis again.

I agree..let Russia bang on Turkey for a while..they deserve it...

This is something to watch at the very least. I've read some reports that a lot of damage was done to the Turks with something like 30 killed directly by Russian forces. I hope The U.S. stays out of it cause Ergodan is a moron and really needs to get out of Syria.

However, the constant yawning and downplaying that goes on around here is a bit extreme. This Syria nonsense has been escalating more and more over the years, there's really no reason to sit back and ignore it. At some point someone HAS to yield or it's just going to keep getting bigger.

originally posted by: Wookiep
This is something to watch at the very least. I've read some reports that a lot of damage was done to the Turks with something like 30 killed directly by Russian forces. I hope The U.S. stays out of it cause Ergodan is a moron and really needs to get out of Syria.

However, the constant yawning and downplaying that goes on around here is a bit extreme. This Syria nonsense has been escalating more and more over the years, there's really no reason to sit back and ignore it. At some point someone HAS to yield or it's just going to keep getting bigger.

Turkey is run by a ruthless dictator too, not much different...And I agree that America should just sit back and watch.

Russia isnt going to war with Turkey, it would be a disaster for them. Russia is helping its ally, Syria.

Its like saying I am going to swing my arms really fast and if you are in front of them you may get smacked, Turkey by proxy is just running into the swinging fists.