Turkey’s Syria policy seems to have upset almost everyone. Domestically, a conflict between the government and the Kurds has been brewing since last week. Fear of a possible massacre in the northern Syrian town of Kobane besieged by ISIS and frustration with the government’s unwillingness to confront the jihadi group came to a boil in Turkey last week. Clashes erupted between security forces and Kurdish protestors who are furious at the government’s reluctance to intervene militarily to stop Kobane falling to ISIS, leaving at least 30 dead with many more wounded. Turkish ground troops and tanks stand a stone's throw away from Kobane as ISIS militants threaten to overrun the Kurdish town. Despite pledges that it would not let the city to fall to the jihadists, Turkey's forces across the border have not budged from their positions. Turkey’s Kurds blame the Turkish government of supporting ISIS to rid northern Syria of Kurdish fighters linked to the PKK and smother the autonomous Kurdish region. Kurds are not the only ones angered by Turkey’s inaction against ISIS. The US has become increasingly frustrated with what its sees as Ankara’s foot-dragging in joining the US-led military coalition. Washington has long been pressing the Turkish government to take on a more decisive role in the fight against Isis militants, only to be rejected by President Erdogan who argues that Turkey will only take part in the military coalition if there is a broader strategy to topple Assad. The US officials thought that weeks of intense diplomatic pressure paid off. After the Turkish parliament passed the resolution authorizing Turkish military to make incursions into Syria and Iraq and allowing foreign troops to operate out of Turkish bases, Washington was hopeful that its reluctant partner was finally fully onboard. On Sunday, US national security adviser Susan Rice said that Turkey agreed to let the US and its allies train moderate Syrian rebels on its soil and make use of its bases. But Turkish officials have denied reaching a new agreement to let the US use its airbase in the fight against ISIS militants adding further tension to the already-strained relationship. Turkey’s suggestion of a no-fly zone in Syria targeting the Assad regime is fueling anger of Iran and Russia as well. After Turkish parliament passed the resolution, Russia and Iran warned Turkey against any military intervention in Syria and said they would not accept the buffer zone Ankara was suggesting. Russian Foreign Minister said “It is impermissible to use the slogans of anti-terrorist struggle for attempts to replace existing regimes.” Iran’s Foreign Minister told Ankara that all countries in the region should act responsibly and not contribute to the exacerbation of the conflict. For Turkey, the biggest fallout of the rise of ISIS could be Ankara’s relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government. Ankara went to great lengths to forge a strategic partnership with Erbil, signing energy deals, engaging Barzani in the peace process with its own Kurds and promoting the Barzani sponsored Kurdish National Council in Syria. Since 2012, KRG-Turkey alliance has become the cornerstone of Turkey’s Iraq and Syria strategy. But close relations between Erbil and Ankara have been strained recently by differences over confronting ISIS. Barzani criticized Ankara for not taking a stronger position against ISIS and its failure to open a supply route for Kurdish military aid to reach Kobane. Turkey now finds itself facing both domestic and international challenges due to the stance it has taken against ISIS. At home, it has to cope with an increasingly frustrated Kurdish minority skeptical that the government intends to hold up its end of the deal in the peace process. In the West, Ankara is viewed as a NATO ally that has turned a blind eye to ISIS activities within its territory and is now reluctant to join the coalition against the group. In the south, Iraqi Kurds now see Turkey as an unreliable ally that was unwilling to help them when they needed the most. The pressure keeps piling on Ankara to change course in Syria. * Gonul Tol is Executive Director of the Center for Turkish Studies at the Middle East Institute.
