Egyptian Think Tank: Turkey Exercising US, Israeli Policies in Syria

 Ankara's diplomacy towards Damascus is based on what is dictated to it by the US and Israel, an Egyptian think tank said, adding that providing shelter for the terrorists fighting the Syrian government is an example of Turkish obedience to Washington and Tel Aviv. The Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in an article by Mohamed Abdel Kader wrote that although Turkey at first claimed that the Syrian crisis is a domestic issue, soon after the outbreak of unrests in Syria in March 2011, Ankara began meddling in Damascus' affairs. It said that soon after the unrests began in Syria, the Turkish government came to feel the fear that Syria's crisis would affect Turkey's political and social situation as well as the country's Kurdish community. Then Turkey made a U turn in its policy and followed the US and Israeli suit, practicing the policies and orders of the two arch foes of Syria, it said, and further reminded the extensive support rendered to Syrian terrorists and armed rebels as among the very same policies proving Ankara's antagonistic efforts and moves in support of the US and Israeli policy against Damascus. In relevant remarks last week, a senior Turkish politician said that Ankara has adopted wrong and unacceptable policies on Damascus, and urged his country to cooperate with Tehran to help bring tranquility back to Syria and prevent the West's increasing meddling with Syria's domestic affairs. If Ankara had pursued a correct diplomacy towards Syria, "neither the US nor any other country could have interfered in Syria's domestic affairs as they are doing now", head of the Istanbul branch of Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party Abdelrahman Bashkan told FNA. He stressed that Turkey should have pursued Iran's policy on Syria, because Iran and Turkey are two powerful countries of the region and no efficient solution could be found to the Syrian problem in absence of these two countries. Bashkan further stressed that Turkey will be the loser in the Syrian developments as it now has no economic ties with Syria. Earlier this month, Syrian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Jihad al-Laham slammed Turkey for arms smuggling and terrorists' infiltration into Syria, saying that Turkey's lack of border control is prolonging the crisis in his country. "Turkey overtly embarks on smuggling weapons (into Syria) and providing operation rooms assisted by spy satellites (for armed rebels and terrorist groups in Syria)," al-Laham said in a meeting with FNA Managing-Director Nezamoddin Moussavi in Damascus. He said Turkey has taken no action to exercise control over its 900-kilometer-long borders with Syria, and added "Without Turkey's cooperation it is impossible to exercise full control over the borders to prevent arrival of terrorists, gunmen and weapons." Syria is relying on "its innate capabilities" and friends standing by it, he said, adding armed dissidents and their Arab and regional supporters are struggling to prolong the clashes, "while the Syrian leadership is seeking to put an end to the crisis as soon as possible". The Syrian parliament speaker noted that the crisis in his country would not end as long as armed men and weapons arrive in Syria, but, meantime, stressed that "the Syrian nation and government will definitely be the winning side no matter how long the crisis would be".