Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 6
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
The aggravation of Ankara-Moscow relations remains one of the main topics amid the military operations of the Russian Air Forces in Syria.
On Oct. 5 the Russian Air Forces violated the airspace of Turkey for the second time after the incident on Oct. 3. Afterwards, the latter sent a note of protest to Russia.
It is interesting that NATO is indignant at this incident more than Turkey, claiming that the violation of Turkish airspace by the Russian Air Forces could not be accidental.
NATO assessed the incident as a violation of the airspace of the organization.
Proceeding from this perspective, a number of political experts in Turkey do not rule out that the incident was a violation of Turkish airspace, which occurred twice, can lead to open confrontation between Russia and NATO. In this case, Turkey can be a springboard in this conflict.
It seems that NATO is specially urging Ankara to aggravate the relations with Moscow.
Turkey will not allow the repeated violation of its airspace by the planes of the Russian Air Forces, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Oct. 6.
The president stressed that any violation of the Turkish borders is a violation of NATO's borders.
"I think that Russia will not want to spoil relations with Turkey," President Erdogan said.
He also said that if Russia loses Turkey, it will lose a lot.
Indeed, if one analyzes the relations between Russia and Turkey, one can say that the deterioration of the relationship is primarily not in the interests of the two countries.
It is too early to draw any conclusions about what Turkey's reaction will be if its airspace is violated for the third time. But today, Chief of General Staff of Turkish Armed Forces Hulusi Akar, commenting on the Russian military actions in Syria, told Trend that Turkey is ready to take measures to eliminate any threat to its security.
Currently, the activities of the "Islamic State" near Turkey's borders pose a serious threat to the country's security, according to Akar.
Moreover, taking advantage of the instability in Syria and Iraq, such terrorist organizations as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its Syrian wing - Democratic Union Party (PYD) - want to achieve their own goals, he added.
These developments give reason to believe that a mediator, who has good relations with both Russia and Turkey, is needed to prevent the spread of the conflict between them.
Given the possibilities of Azerbaijan, which has strong diplomatic relations with Russia and Turkey, Baku can play the role of an active mediator between Moscow and Ankara.
Edited by CN
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Rufiz Hafizoglu is the head of Trend Agency's Arabic news service, follow him on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
