Erdogan’s Syria policy aimed at deceiving Turks: Ex-Syrian offical

Ankara’s potential military intervention in Syria will be nothing but a “silly political trick” by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is trying to act strong after he suffered a defeat in parliamentary elections, a former Syrian official tells Press TV.

In an exclusive interview with Press TV, George Jabbour, an adivsor to former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, reacted to reports of Ankara’s plans for the deployment of army forces to the border with Syria, saying the idea of intervening in Syria was devised by Erdogan to “deceive” the Turkish people that he is still powerful.

“Erdogan would like to say that he continues to feel strong although he was … almost defeated in the elections,” George Jabbour said.

Erdogan’s plan for a possible military intervention in neighboring Syria is “just to show the Turkish people that he is still strong and able to pursue his policies. But, I think that these policies are not supported by the Turkish government. It is a silly political trick,” Jabbour said. 

Last month, general elections were held in Turkey, with Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) failing to obtain an absolute majority in parliament for the first time since coming to power in 2002.

On June 28, reports by Turkish media suggested that the Turkish government has ordered the army to deploy forces to the border areas in a bid to prevent significant gains by Kurdish forces fighting against the ISIL terrorists there.

The reports came two days after the Turkish president accused Syrian Kurds of trying to establish a state in the crisis-hit country’s north, saying Ankara will leave no stone unturned to prevent such an establishment near its borders.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the analyst further emphasized that any potential military intervention in Syria would be in violation of international law as such a move needs to be approved by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

Touching on latest reports suggesting that the Turkish military is deploying tanks to the common border with Syria to create a “military buffer zone” there, the analyst added, “There is no possibility of establishing a buffer zone in Syria, this is totally illusive, there would be no buffer zone in Syria.”

The planned buffer zone reportedly stretches 110 kilometers (68 miles) long and 28 kilometers (17 miles) wide between the southern Turkish towns of Karkamis and Oncupinar.

The Syrian crisis, which broke out in March 2011, has left more than 230,000 people dead and millions displaced. 

Turkey, an outspoken critic of the Syrian government, has time and again been accused of supporting the militants fighting against the Damascus government.

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