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Erdogan has lost footing in Syria: Analyst

Thursday, 18 February 2016 6:32 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 18 February 2016 6:32 AM ]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (AFP photo)

Press TV has conducted an interview with Catherine Shakdam, programs director at the Shafaqna Institute of Middle East Studies in London, and Michael Lane, founder of American Institute for Foreign Policy in Washington, to discuss Turkey’s proposal for a no-fly zone in Syria.

Shakdam says Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lost his “footing” in Syria and is trying to “salvage” his policy that has backfired against him.

“He [Erdogan] would like some space now so that he could kind of gather himself and re-advance a new strategy in Syria because the resistance is getting against him and he is very afraid that … he would lose all his pawns that he invested in the region [and] in Syria,” she says.

She also asserts that a no-fly zone would make things worse as it would allow the Daesh Takfiri terrorists to regain control of territories liberated by the Syrian armed forces.

The analyst further notes that Turkey is exploiting the humanitarian crisis in Syria to forward its own agenda in that country.

Shakdam argues that if Turkey and Saudi Arabia have their way in the Middle East, then all countries, including Western powers, will be “in a bit of a pickle.”

Lane, for his part, believes the imposition of a no-fly zone in Syria would be a very “successful humanitarian” effort, but it would serve Turkey’s current objectives.

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