بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Headlines October 19, 2015
Headlines
• Germany Offers Turkey $3.4 Billion to Stem Migrant Tide
•Turkey: Russia Delaying Transition in Syria
• Turkey accuses US, Russia of supporting PYD, ignoring its PKK link
Details
Germany Offers Turkey $3.4 Billion to Stem Migrant Tide
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday held talks with Turkish leaders in Istanbul to promote a European Union plan that would offer aid and concessions to Turkey in exchange for measures to stem the mass movement of migrants across Europe's borders.
Her discussions with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan come at a time when thousands of new arrivals a day are stretching Germany's capacity to house refugees and other migrants.
Officials said the EU incentives offered to Turkey would involve an aid package of at least 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) to help Turkey host the more than 2 million refugees who are currently in the country, as well as easier access to EU visas for Turkish citizens and re-energized EU membership talks.
The EU plan would see Turkey improve its asylum and documentation procedures and beef up border and coast guard numbers. The idea is to help stop people entering Turkey in search of work there or in the EU, and then prevent both them and refugees already in the country from moving on to Europe.
Turkish officials said this week that the plan was still a "draft" and nothing had been agreed yet.
Erdogan vented his grievances with Europe this week, pointedly taking swipe at talk of awarding Merkel the Nobel Peace Prize for welcoming hundreds of thousands of migrants.
"We have 2.5 million refugees. No one cares," Erdogan said.
Amnesty International voiced concerns over the plan and has called on Merkel and EU leaders to put the rights of refugees above concerns to protect their borders. It said the plan ignores the "challenges" the refugees face in Turkey and the "need for the EU to offer protection to a greater share of the world's burgeoning refugee population."
In a statement released Saturday, the human rights advocacy group said the EU should look for ways to provide safe routes for the refugees trying to reach Europe.
Apart from the migrant crisis, the Turkish and German leaders will also be discussing the fight against terrorism and the situation in Syria.
Last week, two suicide bombings targeting a peace rally in the Turkish capital Ankara killed 102 people. Unconfirmed reports say the attacks were carried out by a Turkish cell of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. [Source: CBS News]
Europe's financial rescuer Germany is now bargaining Turkey to stop the migrant flow to European countries. And Turkish government is about to accept these conditions but on the other hand is building walls on Syrian borders.
Turkey: Russia Delaying Transition in Syria
Turkey has accused Russia of delaying the possibility of pulling Syria out of crisis through its involvement with airstrikes and military assistance.
Russia began air operations in Syria on Sept. 30. The Kremlin claims the airstrikes are aimed at supporting the forces of Russia's ally, President Bashar al-Assad, against ISIL but NATO has accused Russia of targeting groups opposed to Assad.
"What Russia is doing will not bring a benefit apart from delaying the possibility of getting Syria out of this chaos," said Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu on Thursday.
Sinirlioglu's remarks came in a joint press conference following a meeting with his Saudi counterpart Adil al-Jubeir in capital Ankara.
"Russia is in the midst of a huge mistake," said Sinirlioglu, pointing that the Syrian opposition wanted Syrian people to live in democracy and in line with humanitarian honor.
"Turkey will continue to support the Syrian opposition's legal demands till the end, because finally the one who is right will win," The Turkish minister said.
He said Turkey's priority was to protect territorial unity of Syria as well as Iraq and to contribute to regional stability.
Sinirlioglu also dismissed the notion that the Bashar al-Assad regime remain in power in Syria, saying: "If there are those who think Syria will reach stability [with Assad], they are in a dream."
The minister also slammed remarks by Salih Muslim, the leader of the Syrian-based Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, that threatened to respond to Turkey should it "attack" them.
"I am inviting Salih Muslim to show good sense. If he doubts Turkey's will and resolution, it will not be good for him," said Sinirlioglu. "No one should attempt to test this resolution in fighting terrorism."
Muslim spoke to the Kurdish Firat News Agency, reacting to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warning the PYD not to use the weapons given by the U.S. in Turkey. The PYD is considered the Syrian branch of the terrorist PKK organization.
Davutoglu had said the PYD would be hit like the PKK if these weapons entered Turkey. [Source: World Bulletin]
Turkish authorities still insist on Western cultures Democratic solution to Syria ignoring its Islamic history that used to unite all the Muslim Ummah under one flag.
Turkey accuses US, Russia of supporting PYD, ignoring its PKK link
While the power balance in the Middle East becomes much more complicated after Russia's intervention in the Syrian conflict, it's increasingly difficult to pinpoint Turkey's allies or foes, particularly after Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's recent outburst at Russia and the US over their support for the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).
Turkey considers the PYD a terrorist organization which has links to the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PYD recently emerged as a leading force in the fight against the terrorist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and US officials insist that, under US law, the PYD is not considered a terrorist organization.
He pointed out that while Turkey and other allies have sided with the US in the fight against terrorist al-Qaeda and all of its affiliates, Turkey expects the same from the Americans when it comes to the PKK and its affiliates. Davutoglu stressed that any weapons transfer to groups which are affiliated with the PKK is unacceptable, referring to news reports which suggested that the US airdropped weapons to PYD forces in northern Syria.
Davutoglu said Turkey cannot allow the weaponry to enter Turkey and be used by the PKK, adding that Turkey will launch military operations against the PYD to prevent any weapons transfer from the PYD to the PKK.
The US military said on Monday that cargo planes had dropped small arms ammunition to "Arab groups" fighting against ISIL in northern Syria. But The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that a local Kurdish official named Mustafa Bali in the northern Syrian city of Kobani said that the US had provided 120 tons of weaponry and ammunition to the main Kurdish militia fighting ISIL in that area. Bali said he did not know whether the supplies had been provided by air or over land. The US military did not confirm the delivery of weapons or ammunition to Syrian Kurds last week.
Speaking to the press during a joint press conference with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir on Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu also warned the PYD that Ankara would not hesitate to respond to any threatening moves against Turkey.
One senior administration official who works on the issue told us that the White House knew that the coalition was likely to pass most, if not all, of the weapons to the Kurds, Bloomberg reported. The official, who called the Syrian Arab Coalition a "ploy" to arm the Kurds, said the White House knew they would receive the shipments because they controlled the area where the weapons were dropped, the report added.
In July, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter had said the YPG is a "capable" and "effective" force against ISIL. [Source: Today's Zaman]
وَلاَ تَرْكَنُواْ إِلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ فَتَمَسَّكُمُ النَّارُ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ مِنْ أَوْلِيَاء ثُمَّ لاَ تُنصَرُونَ
"And do not incline to those who do wrong. Otherwise the Fire should touch you. You have no friend other than Allah. Later you shall not be helped." [Hud: 113]