On Thursday, Sept. 19, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his desire to extend without delay the parliamentary authorization that would expire in two weeks that allows the government the full authority to decide on sending troops to Syria. “The new legislative permission that will be introduced to the parliament could share the same content as the previous one, or it may contain some differences. The Foreign Affairs Ministry and the chief of staff are now working on the details of this new bill,” he said, and added that he would give the final go-ahead after taking a careful look at it.

Despite the objection of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) last year, the parliament passed the aforementioned authorization on Oct. 4, 2012, valid for one full year, with Decision No. 1025. “The ongoing crisis in Syria not only negatively affects regional stability and security, but it also increasingly negatively impacts our national security,” the parliamentary authorization stated. “Within the framework of the military operations carried out by the Syria Arab Republic Armed Forces, aggressive actions have also targeted the territory of our country since Sept. 20, 2012, and these actions continued despite our numerous warnings and diplomatic initiatives. These hostile actions aiming at the territory of our country are on the verge of being categorized as armed attack. This situation has risen to the point of posing serious threat and risks to our national security.”

While the Turkish jet allegedly downed by Syria in June 2012 does not find its place in this declaration, the parliamentary authorization added: “In this regard, there occurred a need to address potential additional risk and threats to our country in a timely manner, and to act instantly and to take necessary precautions. In this context, the government is granted the full authority to decide on the limits, quantity and the timing for sending out the Turkish Armed Forces to foreign countries; provided that the assignment will be determined by the government according to the principles set out in Article 92 of the Constitution for a period of one year, in accordance with the General Assembly’s fourth meeting on Oct. 4, 2012.”

In the meantime, the United Nations General Assembly convenes this week to mark the opening of its 68th annual session, and the Syrian crisis without a doubt will dominate the contacts of world leaders. The UN Security Council is expected to pass a resolution this week aiming to stamp the US-Russia deal in Geneva to eliminate Syria’s chemical arsenal with the authority of this international body, attributing to it an indisputable legality. On Friday, Sept. 20, Syria met the first deadline of the Geneva agreement and submitted an initial declaration of the list of chemical weapons it possesses. The New York Times reported the same day that the US side is satisfied so far. “We were pleasantly surprised by the completeness of their declaration,” the US official, who declined to be identified, said. “It was better than expected.”” On Saturday, Sept. 21, Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted Sergei Ivanov, President Vladimir Putin’s chief of staff, as saying Russia’s position “could change” and Moscow could drop its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad if it were “certain that Assad is cheating” on giving up chemical weapons.