Is Erdogan’s Syria policy slipping through his fingers?
Syrian Kurds may dash Turkish president’s expectations for US President Donald Trump.
Mustafa Akyol writes that despite protests throughout the United States and worldwide over the Trump administration’s executive order restricting access to the United States from seven predominantly Muslim countries, “the same solidarity did not come from some of the Middle Eastern governments that often claim to be the defenders of the faith,” including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, which, Akyol added, “not only has political expectations from Trump but also has a political elite that has a curious adoration for the new American president.”
Akyol speculates that one reason Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may be somewhat restrained in response to Trump’s Muslim ban is pragmatism. “Erdogan and his team have some important expectations from Trump. One is that he may help extradite Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey sees as the mastermind of the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. The other one is that Trump may stop the Obama administration’s policy of supporting the Syrian Kurdish forces, who Turkey considers to be terrorists.”
Erdogan’s expectations may be misguided, according to Semih Idiz. “Developments in Syria,” he writes, “may once again be slipping through Turkey’s fingers. The new Donald Trump administration in Washington has already disappointed Ankara. Rather than being welcomed, Trump’s advocacy of safe zones in Syria — an idea first proposed by Turkey — has ruffled official Turkish feathers. Ankara now fears that such zones will be a step toward granting Syrian Kurds autonomy.”
Meanwhile, on Jan. 27, the “S&P lowered Turkey’s outlook to ‘negative’ from ‘stable,’ while Fitch cut its credit rating to BB+ from BBB-, stripping the country of its last remaining investment grade status with the Big Three,” reports Mustafa Sonmez. “The need to decrease political risks is now more urgent than any economic measure. A ‘no’ to the one-man regime at the looming referendum may prove the most decisive step on the way to recovery and back to the upper league.”
