Following Trump’s lead, Putin gives Erdogan what he wants

Semih Idiz

Oct 23, 2019

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference following their talks in Sochi, Russia October 22, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC15BBB57CE0 — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference following their talks in Sochi, Russia, Oct. 22, 2019. — Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS

The agreement President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 22 complements his recent green light from US President Donald Trump for Turkey’s military incursion into Syria against the formerly US-backed People's Protection Units (YPG).

Erdogan has in effect secured Moscow’s acceptance of Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring against the YPG, launched Oct. 9. Ankara considers the YPG a Kurdish terrorist organization that threatens its security.