Turkey deals with terrorist blowback on Syria
Turkey may be resetting its regional policies in response to popular discontent and the threat from terrorist groups operating in Syria.
GENEVA — The future of Syria may ultimately be influenced as much by a shift in Turkey’s Syria policies as it will be by the talks in Geneva.
The testy exchange between Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu at the opening plenary of the Geneva II conference in Montreux on Jan. 22 revealed the depth of animosity between the two countries.
But beyond the public acrimony of the foreign ministers in Montreux, Turkey is, more than ever, threatened by al-Qaeda-linked terrorists who are operating in Syria.
On Jan. 20, two days before the start of the Geneva II conference, twin car bombs went off on the Turkey-Syria border at the Bab al-Hawa crossing, killing 16 and prompting Turkey to close the crossing.
