Turkey gambles on the Turkmens
The Turkmen card Turkey is playing in Syria is likely to backfire and endanger the Turkmens.
The Syrian army’s gradual expansion of its operational area with Russian support and the United States' beefing up of the Kurdish-Arab-Syriac coalition (aka the Syrian Democratic Forces) are further restricting Turkey’s options in Syria.
Turkey has had problems supporting Salafi jihadists because of international reactions that shifted its calculations about Turkmens since the summer.
In response to the plans by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) to move westward and expel the Islamic State from Jarablus, Turkey has declared the Euphrates River a red line for the Kurds. Once it is cleared of IS, Turkey is planning to use the Turkmens to control both these areas and the Azez-Aleppo line, which is being considered for a buffer zone. Such plans naturally upped the value of the Turkmen card. Turkey, unable to prevent the Russian bombing against the groups supported by the West and the Gulf, has pushed back with the Turkmens.
But the Russians ignored the Turkish moves and expanded their operations to Turkmen Mountain.
