British analyst to ST: Turkey’s failure to deliver on what Russia wants in Idlib has created fear in the corridors of power in Ankara

A British political analyst has argued that the US and the UK, which refuse to play a role in the Astana and Sochi peace talks on Syria, because the talks at these venues are the brainchild of Russia, would be content for the conflict in Syria to come to an end through a political solution providing this solution prohibits the Syrian Army from re-entering the north-east and north-west of Syria. 

Dr. Marcus Papadopoulos, the Publisher and Editor of Politics First magazine, told the Syria Times e-newspaper that the brutal reality for Washington and London is that Moscow is the dominant outside power in Syria and there is nothing that the West can do to change this. 

“The West understands clearly that its goal of overthrowing the Syrian Government and turning Syria into a client state of America, has failed.  So the Americans and the British are currently trying to prevent the Syrian people from liberating the north of their country because this is where Washington and London have a direct presence in,” the analyst said.

He affirmed that: “Washington, Ankara and Riyadh still hold hope of securing a permanent presence for themselves in the north of Syria, which they could use, at some time in the future, as a springboard for igniting another conflict in Syria, in the hope that, this time, their terrorist proxies would capture Damascus.” And Dr. Papadopoulos warned: “That is a potential menace which I hope the Syrian and Russian governments are alive to.”  

“Aside from the terrorists themselves, it is their backers who are responsible for the conflict in Syria being prolonged.  If America took the decision to completely end its support for the terrorists in Syria, including ISIS, and instructed its allies – Britain, Turkey and Saudi Arabia – to also cease supporting the terrorist organizations who are waging war on the Syrian people, then the conflict would come to a rather quick end,” Dr. Papadopoulos stated.

Asked about the illegal presence of one of the Astana talks’ guarantor county’s troops – Turkey – in the north of Syria, the analyst replied: “The Turks still harbour ambitions for the north of Syria – namely, partition – and they still illegally maintain forces in the north of Syria but the Turkish position in the region is gradually weakening on account of Russia’s leverage over Turkey, which Ankara is unable to resist.”

 Dr. Papadopoulos asserted that Turkey is still supporting the terrorists in Idlib but that “this is incomparable to Turkish goals and actions in Syria from 2012 to 2015 and is something for the Syrian people to rejoice over”. 

“Whilst Turkey is the principal backer of the Al-Qaeda-affiliate HTS, the degree to which Ankara controls this organization is not entirely clear.  Once members of HTS are deployed to Idlib, following arming and training in Turkey, how much control the Turks from then on exert over them is unclear.  I am of the opinion that Turkey is not prepared, quite yet, to tell HTS to completely leave Idlib – owing to Erdogan’s pursuit of a Greater Turkey – and that Ankara does not fully control the decision-making process of HTS.  But that is Turkey’s problem and Russia will have told the Turks so.  The consequences of Turkey failing to deliver on what Russia wants in Idlib has created fear in the corridors of power in Ankara,” The British analyst said.

He contended that Turkey involved itself in Syria “without having properly thought-through all eventualities, and one of these eventualities was Russian military intervention, in support of the Syrian people, which, as we know, materialized in September 2015.” 

Turning to another matter, Dr. Papadopoulos criticized, in a post published on his Facebook page, the “so-called journalists” in the West for keeping tight-lipped over the chemical weapons attack by terrorist forces against civilians in Aleppo.

He wrote: “Yesterday, terrorists backed by the US, the UK, Turkey and Saudi Arabia launched a chemical weapons attack on civilians in Aleppo causing serious casualties. Yet, despite that, the so-called journalists in the West, who normally and fervently beat the drums of war, are silent.”

Interviewed by: Basma Qaddour