“There may be two ways to interpret Ankara’s silence over the Israeli airstrikes in Syria for now — that it’s all about the timing, coinciding with the ongoing compensation talks in Jerusalem and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s upcoming visit to the White House scheduled for May 16,” I wrote yesterday. Speaking at his Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) parliamentary group meeting today (May 7), though, Erdogan briefly touched upon those Israeli airstrikes at the very end of his speech and declared them “unacceptable.” In other words, Ankara’s silence on Israeli airstrikes is no more, but Erdogan’s comments today were quite measured compared with his previous remarks about Israel — his anger this time is clearly directed at Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
It’s still, however, difficult to square the logic as to how the Israeli airstrikes are going to help Assad to stay in power. “These strikes are extended to Assad’s hand on a golden plate to boost [his chances of staying in power],” Erdogan said. “Assad is trying to cover up the massacre in Banias by using the Israeli strikes as an excuse.”
