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Turkey seeks allies' support for ground operation as Syria war nears border
Reuters ^ | February 16th, 2016 | By Tulay Karadeniz, Ece Toksabay and Humeyra Pamuk

Posted on 02/16/2016 11:38:48 PM PST by Mariner

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and some European allies want ground troops deployed in Syria as a Russian-backed government advance nears NATO's southeastern border, Turkey's foreign minister said, but Washington has so far ruled out a major offensive.

Syrian government forces made fresh advances on Tuesday, as did Kurdish militia, both at the expense of rebels whose positions have been collapsing in recent weeks under the Russian-backed onslaught.

The offensive, supported by Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias as well as Russian air strikes, has brought the Syrian army to within 25 km (15 miles) of Turkey's frontier, while Kurdish fighters, regarded by Ankara as hostile insurgents, have extended their presence along the border.

The advances have increased the risk of a military confrontation between Russia and Turkey. Turkish artillery returned fire into Syria for a fourth straight day on Tuesday, targeting the Kurdish YPG militia which Ankara says is being backed by Moscow.

"Some countries like us, Saudi Arabia and some other Western European countries have said that a ground operation is necessary," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Reuters in an interview.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Syria; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: agitprop; astroturf; paidrussiantrolls; putinsbuttboys; russia; russianstooge; russianstooges; syria; turkey; vladtheimploder
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To: bill1952

I HATE THAT ####


21 posted on 02/17/2016 4:09:37 AM PST by dp0622
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To: Mr. Mojo
Axis 2: Turkey, Saudi Arabia, various Arab forces, with possible NATO support.

You forgot to include ISIS and Al Qaeda in your list...or are they the various Arab forces you allude to?

22 posted on 02/17/2016 5:21:00 AM PST by mac_truck (aide toi et dieu t'aidera)
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To: Mariner

I say dump all our support to the Kurds, and let them have Turkey.


23 posted on 02/17/2016 8:06:11 AM PST by SgtHooper (If you remember the 60's, YOU WEREN'T THERE!)
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