Experts examine Erdogan's continuing escalation in Syria
Decoding the Turkish president's harsh rhetoric on Syria is becoming increasingly difficult as he alienates almost all parties working to end the war.
Just as many parties seemed ready to bury the hatchet on the Syrian civil war, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently blasted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"It is not possible to continue with Assad in Syria," Erdogan said at a Dec. 27 press conference with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi in Tunis. "How can we embrace the future of Syria with a president who has murdered almost 1 million of his own citizens?”
Erdogan’s most striking comment came when he declared Assad a terrorist “who has carried out state terrorism.”
Erdogan’s words did not find much of an echo in the media, even among those outlets that favor his Justice and Development Party (AKP), yet the Syrian and Russian foreign ministries reacted promptly. Syrian authorities asked Erdogan not to meddle in their domestic policies and claimed he is “providing unlimited support to all kinds of terrorist organizations" fighting the Syrian regime. Even pro-AKP journalists such as Sabah columnist Mehmet Barlas concurred with the Syrian Foreign Ministry. On Jan. 2, Barlas wrote that Turkey has supported terrorist organizations in Syria under the pretext of providing aid to opposition groups.
