Why Turkey Wants to Intervene Into Syria?

• 07.06.2015, 15:44
•  Near East,  World

After the beginning of so-called "Arab spring" in Syria the possibility of Turkish intervention does not leave the Middle East agenda. From time to time the Turkish authorities announce about the growth of tension on the border. They try to use it as a pretext for creating a border security zone or for intervention into Syria. The developments of the last few years show that these moments are not chosen by chance. As a rule they coincide with the internal instability in Turkey or with the weakness of the ruling Justice and Development Party's positions.

The Turkish media reports that the Turkish Armed Forces will held a meeting in Ankara with the commanders of troops deployed along its border with Syria, during which they will discuss a possible military incursion into Syria. According to Hurriyet, although Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said last week that there were "no immediate plans" for any incursion, the Turkish Armed Forces has recently deployed additional troops and equipment along part of its border with Syria. Currently, 54,000 soldiers - around 15 percent of the Land Forces’ total staff - are deployed near the border with Syria.

It should be noted that in the middle of June after the Syrian Kurdish fighters advanced into Tal Abyad on Turkish border, its president Recep Tayyip Erdogan intensified his campaign for a buffer zone and said Turkey will never allow establishment of a Kurdish state in northern Syria. The Turkish officials try to prove that the creation of a buffer zone is much more needed for the establishment of a safe haven for Syrian refugees. Although such statements no longer convince anyone. As Al-Monitor reports, according to its sources the Turkish military and the opposition are also against the intervention in Syria.

Analysts say that the Turkish excuses are baseless, because it is proved that the areas controlled by the Kurdish fighters are much more safe and cannot threaten Turkey's security. It is possible that after the formation of a coalition government the ruling party cannot sustain the Syrian policy, so Erdogan is dragging Turkey into an adventure in the transition period, says Al-Monitor. Erdogan probably wants to disguise his electoral defeat with the military successes. Thus, the information about the intervention in Syria is first of all directed to the internal auditorium.