April 19, 2021: Turkey has opened another front against Russia. This time it’s Ukraine and since the April 10 meeting in Turkey between the Turkish and Ukrainian leaders Russia has been seeking ways to strike back at Turkey. President Recep was once again once showing Russia he has a Ukraine card in his hand. The meeting was held to mark a decade of strategic partnership between Turkey and Ukraine. Officially this was the ninth meeting of the Turkish-Ukrainian High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council. Both men emphasized the importance of protecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the need to de-escalate tension in the Black Sea region. The discussions focused on eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatist forces have been fighting since 2014.
At a joint press conference Zelensky referred to Crimea and the Donbass region as “temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.” He added that Turkey’s support for the “restoration” of Ukraine’s territories is vitally important. Erdogan told Zelensky that Turkey does not recognize Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and that Turkey is ready to provide “necessary support” to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine using the Minsk accords as a basis for resolution. Initially this consisted of offering more Turkish armed UAVs to Ukraine. Turkey hedged when it came to a direct confrontation with Russia. Erdogan said Turkey’s cooperation with Ukraine did not mean it was taking a stand directly in opposition to other countries, even though Ukraine considers Turkey the only other nation (the United States) to offer direct aid versus the month-old Russian invasion threat.
Indirectly Turkey and Ukraine are increasingly valuable to each other. Since the 2014 Russian attack on Ukraine, the world has learned just how important Ukraine is to Russia, and many other countries, as a source for key military items. After 2014 Russia had to revise its warships and helicopter production plans because Ukraine was the only source for key components, China, then Turkey, turned to Ukraine for some of these items because sanctions had made it impossible to obtain the items from the West. Most recently Ukraine has provided Turkey with key tech for tanks and helicopters. Turkey has already exported UAVs to Ukraine. These previous exchanges between Turkey and Ukraine were done quietly, but now these links are getting more publicity and Russia is annoyed, because they are already confronting Turks in the Caucasus (Armenia) and Africa (Libya). Turkey and Russia are technically allies in Syria but that alliance is fraying. (Austin Bay)
April 18, 2021: It’s old news that’s new news, again. Greece announced it cannot ignore its territorial disputes in the Mediterranean involving Turkey. Solutions are difficult, the Greek statement said, but not impossible. The statement followed a recent meeting in Turkey between the Turkish and Greek foreign ministers. It was the first visit to Turkey’s capital by the Greek foreign minister since 2015. The meeting ended with mutual accusations but the fact the meeting took place is a good sign. It’s also a good sign that the Turkish foreign minister has been invited to visit Greece – with the possibility of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis eventually meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. There are many Greek-Turk disputes. Air space and air space control have been issues since the 1950s. Cyprus’ split into Turkish and Greek halves is a continuing problem. Now competing maritime territorial claims, including extent and boundaries of their continental shelves, is a huge issue since the area may have extensive natural gas reserves.
April 17, 2021: Turkey confirmed that it supports Iraq’s “Sinjar Deal” to rebuild Iraq’s second largest city Mosul and insure Iraq’s territorial unity. Turkey intends to help rebuild and improve Mosul’s infrastructure, which was badly damaged during the war against ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). The Sinjar Deal was reached in October 2020 between Iraq’s central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The deal may eventually lead to the removal of PKK (Kurdish Turkish separatists) rebels from the Sinjar and perhaps the KRG. The PKK established a base in Sinjar in 2014. It also facilitates the return of displaced Yazidis to their homes. Turkey believes the deal will also help “eradicate” ISIL fighters in the region.
April 16, 2021: President Erdogan criticized the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus for a court decision he claims will restrict teaching Koran courses. Erdogan threatened to retaliate against the statelet if the court ruling isn’t overturned. The court ruled the Republic of Northern Cyprus’ Ministry of Education should regulate Koran courses, not a Muslim religious commission. Turkey has long had problems with Cyprus because of its mixed Greek-Turk population. This led to a crisis in 1974 when Greek Cypriot guerrillas with links to the Greek “Colonels” junta in Athens attempted a coup aimed at “enosis” — the unification of Cyprus with Greece. The coup collapsed when the Turkish military garrison in Cyprus was reinforced by Turkey. The Turkish response was generally portrayed in the western media as an aggressive invasion akin to Saddam attacking Kuwait. That was not the case. A 1960 agreement when Cyprus became independent, gave Greece, Turkey and the former colonial power Great Britain the right to guarantee Cyprus’ status as an independent state. The Turk intervention left Turk Cypriots (20 percent of the population) controlling 40 percent of Cyprus, with a “Green Line” snaking through the capital, Nicosia.” Efforts by Greek and Turkish Cypriots to end the division resulted in the establishment of two entities that seek to become completely foreign (Greek and Turkish) control and relying more on allies like America, Britain and Israel to help protect any independence they have. The current dispute over Islam is another example of that unpopular foreign interference.
Source: https://www.strategypage.com/qnd/turkey/articles/20210419.aspx