Turkey’s alleged support to radical groups in Syria has long been a watershed issue, setting a new challenge for sowing conflicting interests and contradicting values among allies. While addressing the UN General Assembly on Sept. 25, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed those accusing Turkey of somehow aiding or turning a blind eye to these terror groups. He instead argued that due to the international community’s inability, his country’s security is jeopardized by these terror organizations, turning the areas around Syria and Iraq to “free regions” and pulling together these jihadists like a magnet.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu echoed the same accusation against the international community for its inaction in toppling the Syrian regime. “If [the international community] had implemented a 'no-fly' zone across Syria when we first proposed it, the Islamic State [IS] would not have had the means to expand as widely as it has today,” Davutoglu said Sept. 20. “Once the [Syrian] regime bombs, the opposition ends up withdrawing from the areas under its dominance and escapes to safer areas. IS rapidly fills in this void. This created a tactical coalition between IS and the [Syrian] regime. This is what led the IS threat to grow bigger.”
