Posted on 01/22/2016 8:52:04 AM PST by Trumpinator
Turkey alarmed by 'Russian build-up' on Syria border
AFP By Dilay Gundogan and Burak Akinci in Ankara
42 minutes ago
Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday expressed alarm over reports of a build-up of Russian troops in northern Syria near the Turkish border, saying such movements would not be tolerated.
"We have said this from the beginning: we won't tolerate such formations (in northern Syria) along the area stretching from the Iraqi border up to the Mediterranean," Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers in Istanbul.
Britain-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had said that Russia had sent a number of engineers to the Syrian border town of Qamishli to strengthen the runway and increase the capacity of an airport there.
Russia's reported move into Qamishli comes as Ankara and Moscow are experiencing their biggest crisis in years over the shooting down of a Russian war plane by Turkey on November 24.
"We maintain our sensitivities on this issue," added Erdogan, citing reports that Russia had deployed some 200 soldiers and stating that he would raise the issue Saturday in talks with visiting US Vice President Joe Biden.
Observers have said that Russia, which has for years been at loggerheads with Turkey over the Syrian conflict, may want to refit the airport as a Russian base, as happened in Hmeimim in Latakia province.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Erdogan is crazy....both father and son.
Islam makes you crazy or attracts the crazy.
I’d send Turkey a picture of me shooting them the middle finger if I were Putin!
We should never have made Turkey part of NATO. I’d hate to see us have to defend them against Russia. No country that is majority muzzie should be connected to us in any fashion.
+1
One word Erdogan, “Constantinople.”
I don’t think that NATO has to defend Turkey, if Turkey is the aggressor, invading Syria.
The popcorn stand is already being set up by biff on the other post of this story
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3387113/posts
Well, Turks, maybe you should understand that poking a bear in the eye isn’t likely to make him more kindly disposed toward you. In fact, it may remind him that he’s hungry and that YOU are food.
Dumbasses.
I think if US Forces were sent to defend Turkey, you’d see a wide-scale mutiny.
I’d send Turkey a picture of me shooting them the middle finger if I were Putin!
Nope, Vlad Putin is far more likely to send a more substantial message via 5,000 artillery tubes and 1,000 or so bomb bays.
Erdogan: Don’t mess with my ISIS gravy train.
“a build-up of Russian troops in northern Syria near the Turkish border, saying such movements would not be tolerated.”
Turkey says what goes in Syria? They gonna invade and attack the Russian military? They used up their goodwill with that get stunt. If they attack Russian formations inside Syria at the invitation of Assad, that’s not a NATO fight.
Tangle with the bear alone islamo-idiot.
Erdogan can talk, but he knows there’s very little he can do about a Russian buildup anywhere in Syria. ISIS has already had to cut fighter’s pay by 50% as Russia is destroying the Syria to Turkey pipeline on wheels.
Erdogan is clearly on his own here. If he does attempt something he won’t survive for long. Russia is going to provoke Turkey given the Su-24 shoot down. They are going to more than even things up.
Obama is praying to himself that nothing happens on his watch. As soon as January 21st 2017 rolls around he could care less if the world plunges in to a bloody world war. In fact, he’d love it. He will be on a every media outlet every single day bashing the new president, if it’s a Republican, or bashing the republican Congress if it’s Hillary.
OK, but how is he going to transport those artillery tubes? A logistical nightmare, I think.
Methinks Turkey may see a "White Swan" flying over their air space.
Maybe not as quickly as the US can, but the Russians have more patience and a longer memory than we do.
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