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Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people
Some photos of Jalal Malkoun Matossian's funeral in Al-Hasakeh, Syria.
Some photos of Jalal Malkoun Matossian's funeral in Al-Hasakeh, Syria.
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Azerbaboon: 9.000 Google hits and counting! -
Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people
Politics is not about the pursuit of morality nor what's right or wrong
Its about self interest at personal and national level often at odds with the above.
Great politicians pursue the National interest and small politicians personal interestsComment
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Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people
JOKE OF THE DAY AGAIN
Ruslan Aliyev speaks for Russia!!!
I guess Russians deserve it.....
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How vital is Syria's Tartus port to Russia?
By Frank Gardner
BBC security correspondent
Since Syria erupted into conflict last year, diplomats, spies and military strategists have struggled to work out what lies behind Moscow's staunch support of its Middle Eastern ally, the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Mention is frequently made of Russia's Mediterranean naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartus which, along with multi-billion-dollar arms sales to Damascus, runs the argument, is why Russia will never abandon the Assad government.
Not so, says a respected Moscow military think tank.
"Tartus is not a real naval base," says Ruslan Aliev, the head of information at the well-connected Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) in Moscow.
He told the BBC: "It is just a point on the map to replenish food and water and carry out some occasional repairs. There are a maximum of 50 Russian sailors and specialist technicians there.
"It is just a symbolic place after the collapse of the Soviet Union (in 1991), showing we still have somewhere to send our ships. From a strategic point of view [Tartus] is insignificant."
This view contrasts sharply with the widely-held belief that Moscow will do all it can to hold on to its only foothold in the Mediterranean.
Just this week, the commander-in-chief of the Russian navy, Vice-Admiral Viktor Chirkov, was quoted by Russian news agency RIA-Novosti as saying: "This base is essential to us; it has been operating and will continue to operate."
'Nostalgia'
A report published on 27 June by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty says: "Russia's greatest strategic and geopolitical interest in Syria is the use of a deep-water port at Tartus".
That report goes on to say that Tartus can dock nuclear submarines, it is the receiving point for Russian weapons shipments to Syria and it is linked to a well-developed network of roads and railways.
So what exactly is there at Tartus?
A quick glance at satellite imagery on the internet shows a well-ordered harbour with three piers just north of the town, which itself lies on Syria's Mediterranean coast between Lebanon to the south and Turkey to the north.
It is big enough to take in a missile cruiser but unlike the port facilities used by the US Navy's 5th Fleet in the Gulf, it is not big enough for an aircraft carrier.
Under a 1971 deal with Syria, Russia has leased the Tartus facility as part of a multi-billion-dollar debt write-off.
Thousands of Russians live and work in Syria, many working on defence contracts, maintaining and upgrading weaponry already supplied, but there appear to be relatively few at Tartus.
Video footage taken on a recent visit by Russian journalists shows a sleepy, half-deserted port with ageing Russian trucks, an officer's overgrown orchard and a few decrepit supply hangers.
"The Western media have got it all wrong in portraying Tartus and arms sales to Syria as a major reason why Russia is standing by the Assad regime," says Ruslan Aliev.
It is about nostalgia for former Soviet power, he insists.
In a report being circulated to Russian defence chiefs, CAST argues that Russia does not actually have a major strategic stake in Syria, and that its support for President Assad is based more on emotion than logic.
"No-one in Russia really thinks Assad is a good or helpful guy," concludes Mr Aliev.Comment
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Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people
Օսկանյան. «Պաշտոնական Երևանը մի քանի անհապաղ քայլեր պետք է ձեռնարկի»
18:55, 27 հունիսի, 2012
ՀՀ նախկին արտգործնախարար, ԲՀԿ պատգամավոր Վարդան Օսկանյանն այսօր «Facebook»-ի իր էջում անդրադարձել է սիրիահայերին օգնելու թեմային:
Երեկ Սիրիայի նախագահ Բաշար Ասադն արդեն ընդունեց, որ երկիրը պատերազմական վիճակում է: Խոսքը բնականաբար քաղաքացիական պատերազմի մասին է: Հաշվի առնելով Սիրիայի էթնիկ և կրոնադավանական կառուցվածքը, ինչպես նաև ուժերի դասավորությունը այս պահին, շատ լուրջ վտանգ կա, որ այնտեղ իրոք լայնածավալ քաղաքացիական պատերազմ սկսվի:
Սիրիայում այսօր մոտ 60 հազար հայ է ապրում, որից 45 հազարը՝ Հալեպում: Հալեպի հայ համայնքը «մայր համայնք» է կոչվում, որովհետև Ցեղասպանությունից հետո կազմավորված առաջին համայնքն է եղել, որտեղից հետագայում ճյուղավորվել են տարբեր այլ համայնքներ Մերձավոր Արևելքում և այլուր: Առաջին օրվանից համայնքը ոչ միայն գոյատևել է, այլև բարգավաճել և դարձել Սփյուռքի ամենակենսունակ և հյուրընկալ հայկական կենտրոններից մեկը:
Հայաստան-Սփյուռք հարաբերություններում սիրիահայերը, հատկապես՝ Հալեպի համայնքը, միշտ եղել են առաջատար դիրքերում: Այսօր սիրիահայ համայնքի գոյությունը լուրջ վտանգի տակ է: Անկանխատեսելի է, թե ինչ զարգացումներ կլինեն:
Թե՛ խորհրդային շրջանում, թե՛ հատկապես Հայաստանի անկախությունից հետո հայաստանցի պաշտոնյաների, մտավորականների, գեղարվեստական խմբերի և առևտրականների այցելության ամենասիրված, հաճելի և շահավետ վայրերից մեկն է եղել Հալեպը:
Լինելով հալեպցի՝ ես բնականաբար կապի մեջ եմ այնտեղի ընկերներիս և հարազատներիս հետ: Երեկ մի զրույցի ընթացքում իմացա, որ վերջին առնվազն ութ ամիսների ընթացքում Հայաստանից որևէ պաշտոնյա չի այցելել Հալեպ կամ Սիրիա: Մի խոսքով՝ համայնքը թողնված է սեփական հույսին: Հալեպի միությունները, կազմակերպությունները, համայնքն ընդհանրապես իրենց թիկունքում չեն զգում հայրենի պետության զորակցությունը:
Ես կարծում եմ, որ թեկուզ ուշացումով, բայց այս թերացումը պետք է շատ արագ ուղղել, քանի որ իրավիճակն օրեցօր բարդանում է, և համայնքը չգիտի՝ իրեն ինչ է սպասում: Պաշտոնական Երևանը մի քանի անհապաղ քայլեր պետք է ձեռնարկի:
Նախ, Անվտանգության խորհրդի նիստ պետք է հրավիրի և կողմնորոշվի, թե զարգացումների ինչ սցենարներ կարող են լինել և դրանցից յուրաքանչյուրի դեպքում ինչ աջակցություն կարելի է տրամադրել Սիրիայի հայ համայնքին:
Երկրորդ, առանց որևէ հրապարակայնության՝ նախագահի կողմից լիազորված անձ պետք է մեկնի Հալեպ, համախմբի այնտեղ գործող հայկական կուսակցությունների, կազմակերպությունների ներկայացուցիչներին, կրոնական հարանվանությունների առաջնորդներին, լսի նրանց, որի արդյունքում համատեղ ծրագիր պետք է մշակվի ոչ ցանկալի զարգացումների դեպքում համապատասխան քայլեր ձեռնարկելու և համայնքի վնասները նվազագույնի հասցնելու համար:
Հայաստանի պետությունն իրավունք չունի հապաղել:Comment
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Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people
Assad’s Removal is Not on Moscow’s Mind Today Monday, Jun 25 2012
By Sharmine Narwani – The New York Times, June 25, 2012 (Unedited version)
When we look back at Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Libya this past year, we have to ask whether the premise of “dictator leaves, problem solved” is remotely valid.
It is a key reason why Russia has little incentive to relinquish support of its longtime ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Russian position was entirely evident during the recent Putin-Obama meeting when the question of Assad’s removal came up.
“Then what?” Putin is said to have responded.
Aside from Russia’s own strategic alliance with Syria, they have several urgent concerns. Firstly, the Russian position is firmly tied to that of the BRICs today. These four disparate economic-political powerhouses have resolved to redress a global imbalance of power and Syria has become a frontline state in this effort. The BRICs insist that Syrians should resolve their crisis with minimal intervention, which precludes forcing regime change from the outside.
Secondly, the external parties that are demanding Assad’s ouster are the same handful of NATO-GCC interventionists that brought us the Libyan catastrophe under the cloak of Responsibility To Protect (R2P) and Humanitarian Intervention narratives. The Russians deeply regret having signing on to the Security Council resolution that enabled the unraveling of Libya, and will go to great lengths to prevent the same scenario in Syria.
Thirdly, the creeping influence of Salafist oppositionists and even foreign jihadists is of concern to the Russians, who recall their own experience with these elements in Afghanistan, and worry about the potential spillover into their own Muslim communities if Syria implodes.
But while the Russians have been deliberately vague on their support for Assad himself, today they are unlikely to undermine him primarily because of the unpredictability of “what comes next.”
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton understood this reality when she said in June: “We are approached on a regular basis by representatives of different groups within Syria who are terrified of what comes next.”
So important is this question that American elder statesmen are starting to weigh in. Henry Kissinger questions whether the increasingly common practice of ousting leaders and breaching sovereignty could threaten the world order established in 1648: “In reacting to one human tragedy, we must be careful not to facilitate another.” Zbigniew Brzezinski argues that the conflict in Syria is “a difficult internal problem which has not assumed huge proportions yet” and cautions against turning this into “a global problem.”
And here’s why: Fifteen months of crisis and spin later, we have yet to see the emergence of a viable domestic or external-based Syrian opposition that offers a detailed political roadmap. Without a plausible alternative to Assad, Syria could quickly crumble into a failed state with broad spillover into the region and beyond.
The Russians are keenly touting the UN’s Annan Plan as the “only game in town.” They argue that Syria needs an urgent de-escalation in violence – under the watch of UN Monitors – followed closely by a genuine process of political reconciliation, at the end of which Syrians can decide on the fate of their president.
Recognizing the dangers of militarization and foreign intervention, Russia and the other BRICs have sought to put their arms around Syria to preserve the “homegrown solution” option. In fact, as armed conflict escalates, their motivation to help oust Assad will be further reduced, not encouraged.
Assad’s removal is not on Moscow’s mind today – the warships heading into Syrian waters make that clear. They have learned the hard way that forced regime change is not the solution – it is usually the start of something much worse. Think Libya. Think Afghanistan. Russians have learned from those lessons.
This short essay was in response to a query posed by The New York Times: “Is there a way that Russia can be persuaded to abandon Assad?” Fellow debaters include the Stimson Center’s Mona Yacoubian, Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Syrian National Council’s Radwan Ziadeh.
Azerbaboon: 9.000 Google hits and counting!Comment
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Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people
Azerbaboon: 9.000 Google hits and counting!Comment
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Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people
ARMENIAN AIRLINE TO RESUME FLIGHT TO TROUBLED SYRIAN CITY
CRIENGLISH.com
June 29 2012
China
Armenian air carrier Armavia announced Friday that it is to resume
the flight to the Syrian city of Aleppo next week.
The Yerevan-Aleppo flight, which has been put on hold because of the
situation in Syria, will take place every Monday, local media outlet
Armenpress quoted Nana Avetisova, the company's press-secretary,
as saying.
"We are resuming the flight because of the request from Armenian
society" and others, said Avetisova, adding that it will offer Syrian
Armenians the opportunity to reach Armenia in case of emergency.
The Syrian Armenian community currently numbers nearly 100,000,
according to the report.Comment
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Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people
Assad to Kremlin: I can finish the revolt in two months, replaces army chiefs
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report July 2, 2012, 10:05 AM (GMT+02:00) Tags: Bashar Assad Russia Syrian army Shabbiha Turkey
Turkish military convoy heading for Syrian border
In a phone call to the Kremlin Sunday, July 1, Syrian President Bashar Assad said he needed just two months to finish off the revolt against his regime. “My new military tactics are working,” he said in a secret video-conference with Russian intelligence and foreign ministry officials who shape Moscow’s policy on Syria.
Reporting this exclusively, DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources also register the fleeting life span of the new plan for ending the Syrian war which UN envoy Kofi Annan announced had been agreed at a multinational Action Group meeting in Geneva on Saturday, June 30. Within 24 hours, the principle of a national unity transitional government based on “mutual consent” was rejected by the regime and the Turkish-based opposition leaders alike, as the violence went into another month.
On the first day of July, 91 people were reported killed in the escalating Syrian violence after a record 4,000 in June.
The new military tactics to which Assad referred are disclosed here:
1. The sweeping removal of most of the veteran Syrian army commanders who led the 16-month bloody assault on regime opponents and rebels. They were sent home with full pay to make way for a new set of younger commanders, most of them drawn from the brutal Alawite Shabiha militia, which is the ruling family’s primary arm against its enemies.
The regular commanders had shown signs of fatigue and doubts about their ability to win Assad’s war. Their will to fight on was being badly sapped by the mounting numbers officers and men going over to the opposition camp in June.
One of the tasks set the new commanders is to stem the rate of defections.
To keep the veteran commanders from joining the renegades and reduce their susceptibility to hostile penetration, the officers were not sacked but retired on full pension plus all the perks of office, including official cars.
2. But a higher, unthinkable level of violence is the key to Assad’s “new tactics.” He has armed the new military chiefs with extra fire power - additional tank and artillery units, air force bombers and attack helicopters - for smashing pockets of resistance and unlimited permission to use it. Already the level of live fire used against the rebels has risen to an even more unthinkable level which explains the sharp escalation of deaths to an average of 120 per day.
On the Syrian-Turkish border, tensions continue to mount. Monday morning, Turkey was still pumping large-scale strength including tanks, antiaircraft and antitank guns, artillery, surface missiles and combat helicopters to the border region.
Saturday, half a dozen Turkish jets were scrambled to meet Syria helicopters approaching their common border.
In Tehran, Brig. Gen. Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, commander of Iran’s IRGC Aerospace Division, warned Ankara that if its troops ventured onto Syrian soil, their bases of departure would be destroyed. The threat was made during Hajizadeh’s announcement of a three-day missile exercise starting Monday in response to the European oil embargo. He reported that long-, medium- and short-range missiles would target “simulations of foreign bases in the northern Semnan Desert,” without mentioning any specific nation except Turkey.Comment
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Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people
DEBKA often makes non-verifiable claims. Given its conflict of interest against Assad, I don't know if i'd take this as anything more than propaganda at the moment.
Originally posted by Vrej1915 View PostAzerbaboon: 9.000 Google hits and counting!Comment
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Re: Bashar al-Assad, Syria and the Armenian people
Syria puts double whammy on Turkey
By M K Bhadrakumar
The shooting down of a Turkish fighter aircraft by Syria on Friday has become a classic case of coercive diplomacy.
A Turkish F-4 Phantom fighter aircraft disappeared from radar screens shortly after taking off from the Erhach airbase in Malatya province in southeastern Turkey and entered Syrian airspace. According to Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), air-defense forces shot down the plane 1 kilometer off the coast from the Syrian port city of Latakia. A Turkish search-and-rescue aircraft rushed to the area of the crash but came under Syrian fire and had to pull out.
The Russian naval base at Tartus is only 90 kilometers by road from Latakia. The incident took place on a day that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem was on a visit to Russia.
It also happened within a week of Britain staging a high-profile publicity event to humiliate Russia by canceling the insurance of a ship when it was off the coast of Scotland en route to Syria from Russia's Baltic port in Kaliningrad. British Foreign Secretary William Hague scrambled to take credit for that in the House of Commons.
The shooting down of the Turkish jet also coincides with a hardening of the Russian position on Syria. Moscow refused to comment on the incident when Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu telephoned his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Sunday seeking understanding.
Itar-Tass quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying the two diplomats "discussed the situation around Syria, including within the context of the incident with a Turkish fighter jet". Plainly put, Moscow was unwilling to treat Friday's incident in total isolation. Nor was it prepared to censure Damascus.
Unrealistic demand
Indeed, the Russian stance has perceptibly hardened in the past week in response to a recent series of provocative rhetoric by the United States and London's stage-managed event on June 18 to smear Moscow's stance on Syria.
On Thursday, Lavrov bluntly warned that Russia would not countenance a replay of the Libyan scenario in Syria: "A replication of the Libyan scenario in Syria won't be admitted, and we [Russia] can guarantee this." Lavrov was dismissive of Western demands for the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, calling them "unrealistic". He insisted that "at least 50 percent" of Syrian people supported Assad's party in the recent parliamentary elections.
Again, on Sunday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov told Interfax: "We have no doubt that the imposition of any kind of regime change in Damascus from outside, and the one-sided support of the opposition, is a straight path to plunge the country into an abyss of full civil war."
One major reason for this hardening of the Russian stance was Britain's publicity stunt on June 18. Moscow hit back by deciding that the ship carrying Russian helicopters to Syria, which was turned back after its insurance was cut, will resume its journey under escort from the Russian port of Murmansk after changing its flag to the Russian Standard.
The ship is apparently carrying up to 15 Mil Mi-25 helicopters that were repaired in Kaliningrad. The helicopters were originally bought by Assad's late father and predecessor Hafez al-Assad at the end of the 1980s. What made Moscow furious was that both Hague and his US counterpart, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, tried to propagate stories that the ship carried fresh arms supplies to Syria. Lavrov said:
"We are not going to make any excuses, because we did not breach anything. We violated neither international law nor UN Security Council resolutions nor our national legislation on export control ... We supply armaments under contracts, which imply purchase by Syria of primarily anti-aircraft means from us, which may be needed only in case of external aggression against the Syrian state. [Emphasis added.]
Interestingly, Lavrov said this on Sunday after the shooting down of the Turkish jet.
Momentary violation
It is against the totality of this background that the Syrian action against the Turkish aircraft needs to be weighed. Damascus has a reputation for "poker diplomacy". It may have conveyed a host of signals to Turkey (and its Western allies):
Syria's air-defense system is effective and lethal;
There will be a price to pay if Turkey keeps escalating its interference in Syria;
Turkey's military superiority has its limits;
The Syrian crisis can easily flare up into a regional crisis.
Yet Syria's official stance over Friday's incident has been very restrained, almost apologetic. To be sure, Syria cooperated with Turkey to locate the wreckage of the aircraft. Damascus admitted with a straight face that it was a regrettable incident but an inadvertent act and said the two countries should put it behind them. Syria meant no harm and the incident happened only because Syrian forces were under orders to shoot down foreign military aircraft that violated national airspace.
Turkey, of course, is fuming, knowing full well that Syria is a deep player. The Turkish government went into a huddle. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was expected to make a statement in parliament Tuesday. President Abdullah Gul said, "It is not possible to cover over a thing like this; whatever is necessary will be done."
Foreign Minister Davutoglu, however, has rejected the Syrian version of the incident. He said: "Our plane was shot down in international airspace, 13 nautical miles from Syria ... The plane did not show any sign of hostility toward Syria and was shot down about 15 minutes after having momentarily violated Syrian airspace." He dismissed Syria's plea that it did not know the plane was Turkish.
Davutoglu claimed that Turkey had intercepted radio communications from the Syrian side suggesting that they knew it was a Turkish aircraft. "We have both radar info and Syria's radio communications." There was no warning from Syria before the attack, he said. "The Syrians knew full well that it was a Turkish military plane and the nature of its mission."
Conceivably, Syria wanted Turkey to know that its decision to shoot down the jet was deliberate. An exacerbation of Turkish-Syrian tensions is in the cards. Turkey has since invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's charter, which says: "The Parties [member countries] will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened." A meeting of NATO ambassadors has been scheduled for Tuesday in Brussels.
Turkey is calibrating a strong response to the Syrian act. But a challenging time lies ahead for Erdogan. First and foremost, his interventionist policy in Syria does not enjoy the support of Turkey's opposition parties.
An obscure fracas
Knowing Erdogan's ability to whip up nationalistic sentiments, the opposition parties quickly concurred that Turkey must respond to incident. But they point out that Erdogan needlessly provoked Damascus and has destroyed Turkey's friendly ties with Syria.
The leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdarglu, pointedly asked on Sunday after meeting with Erdogan: "Why have Turkey and Syria come to the brink of war?" The CHP's deputy head Faruk Logoglu, who is a distinguished former diplomat (ex-head of the Foreign Ministry and former ambassador to the US), said:
"We are very critical of the way AKP [Erdogan's Justice and Development Party] is handling the situation. There should be no outside intervention of any sort and any intervention must be mandated by a resolution of the UN Security Council. In the absence of such a resolution, any intervention would be unlawful."
In short, the Turkish opposition will be free to dissociate from any response that Erdogan decides on, especially if things go haywire downstream.
Second, aside from an enthusiastic statement of support of Turkey and condemnation of Syria by British Foreign Secretary Hague, the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have refrained from taking sides, although Davutoglu spoke to them personally. Everyone is counseling Ankara to show restraint, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Third, Article 4 of the NATO treaty stops short of the explicit mention of possible armed responses cited in Article 5. The NATO countries would know that Turkish aircraft have been repeatedly violating Syrian airspace in the recent weeks and Damascus has now retaliated.
The reaction by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle was that he was "greatly worried" by the incident and would urge a "thorough investigation"; he then welcomed Turkey's "cool-headed reaction".
But the point is, even within Turkey, there is skepticism about what really happened. The veteran Turkish editor Yousuf Kanli wrote:
"Did the plane violate Syrian airspace? ... On the other hand, why was the Turkish reconnaissance plane flying so low, in an area close to a Russian base, and why did it keep on going in and out of Syrian airspace so many times in the 15-minute period before it was downed? Was it testing the air-defense capabilities of Syria (or the Russian base) before an intervention which might come later this year?"
Not many NATO member countries would want to get involved in the obscure fracas. At best, Turkey can expect statements of solidarity, but equally, Damascus would also have estimated carefully that the probability of any concerted NATO action on the ground is low.
Fourth, the painful reality is that Turkey's most ardent allies in the present situation, who have encouraged Ankara on the path of intervention in Syria, are of absolutely no use today - Saudi Arabia and Qatar. They are nowhere in a position to engage Syria militarily. Turkey, in short, is left all by itself to hit back at Syria.
Fifth, any Turkish military steps against Syria would be a highly controversial move regionally. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari (who, interestingly, visited Moscow recently for consultations over Syria) voiced the widely held regional opinion when he warned of a "spillover the crisis into neighboring countries", including Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey itself.
Finally, the UN has announced the holding of an international conference on Syria next Saturday in Geneva. Besides, Clinton is due to visit Russia early this week and Syria is likely to figure in her talks with Lavrov. Ankara cannot afford to take precipitate steps on the eve of the conference. At any rate, Russia has warned against any foreign intervention in Syria - and that precludes any military move by Turkey.
War by other means
The Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Sunday: "Syria was merely exercising its right and sovereign duty and defense. There is no enmity between Syria and Turkey, but political tension [exists] between the two countries. What happened was an accident and not an assault as some like to say, because the plane was shot while it was in Syrian airspace and flew over Syrian territorial waters."
The taunt is a bitter pill to swallow for a sultan. Ankara now claims it has radio intercepts to show that the order to shoot down the aircraft came from Damascus knowing fully well it had a Turkish flag while on a "a routine training flight and undertaking a national radar-system test in respect of national security over recent developments on the Mediterranean coast".
Erdogan has had time before Tuesday's meeting to finesse some vaziyeti kurtaran bahane (which translates from Turkish as "face-saving excuse") to maintain his dignity and prestige in front of the parliament and the nation. But then, this is a shame he brought down on himself, since all protagonists would know that the Turkish jet was undertaking a risky mission off the Russian naval base of Tartus.
The influential Turkish commentator Murat Yetkin wrote on Monday, "It is clear that the incident will result in increased pressure on Syria and its supporters, mainly Russia. But what Bashar al-Assad cares for seems to be keeping his chair and the Russian naval base in Tartus strong, whatever the cost, also knowing that neither the Turkish government, nor the opposition and people, want war."
Yetkin was sure that "Turkey will do everything to make Syria pay for the attack", but "payment doesn't mean war, there are other options".
In reality, Damascus has put a double whammy on Turkey. It not only lost a Phantom and its two pilots but is now under compulsion to take the loss calmly, exercising self-restraint.
Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar was a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service. His assignments included the Soviet Union, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Turkey.
(Copyright 2012 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
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