ANKARA

- Turkey's decision to close its airspace to Russian military and civilian aircraft carrying military personnel to Syria has raised many questions about the reasons for taking this step, the secret of its timing and its relationship to the war in Ukraine.

And Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced in statements he made on his plane to Uruguay that the license granted for a period of 3 months from Ankara to Moscow to operate these flights expired in April.

Davutoglu stated that he discussed this issue during his visit to Moscow last March with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, who pledged to inform President Vladimir Putin on the matter.

sensitive decision

The sensitive Turkish decision comes in light of the continuation of the Russian war in Ukraine, and after Russian air strikes targeted areas in the countryside of Aleppo in northern Syria that are under the control of the Turkish-backed “Syrian National Army.” The Russian Air Force also targeted several villages and towns in the Syrian opposition’s areas of influence in Idlib Governorate, northwest Syria last Friday.

Meanwhile, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that Russian warplanes launched air strikes on Saturday, targeting areas in the northern countryside of Latakia, the fifth such targeting of the de-escalation zone during this month.

Russia, Turkey and Iran had agreed to establish 4 de-escalation zones in Syria between the regime forces and the opposition factions.

Meanwhile, the Turkish army launched a large-scale military operation in the northern countryside of Aleppo in response to a missile attack carried out by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - led by the Kurdish People's Protection Units - from an area under its control on a checkpoint in the town of Marea.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense said - in a statement, the day before yesterday, Saturday - that at least 50 members of the "SDF" were eliminated in response to the firing on areas containing army bases.

Turkey launched 3 operations inside Syria, the first "Euphrates Shield" against the Islamic State in northern Aleppo, the second "Olive Branch" and the third "Spring of Peace", both against the "Syrian Democratic Forces" in Afrin, Hasaka and Raqqa.


decision motives

In this context, the Turkish journalist writer Ismail Kaya believes that the Turkish decision is directly related to the developments of the war in Ukraine, and it is similar to the previous decision regarding the implementation of the provisions of the Montreux Convention banning the passage of Russian military ships from the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, so that Turkey does not consider that it provides any facilities to anyone. Both sides of the war on the coast of the Black Sea.

Kaya told Al Jazeera Net, "In light of the news of Russia's intention to transfer military forces and foreign militants from Syria to fight alongside it in Ukraine, the Turkish decision comes in the context of preventing the use of Turkish lands by land, sea and air in any direct or indirect military actions related to the war in Ukraine."

Kaya believes that Ankara is angry at the faltering political talks within the framework of Turkish mediation, in light of the lack of any progress in the talks that faltered after discovering that Russian forces had committed "massacres" in areas from which the Russian forces withdrew near Kyiv, and the failure of efforts to hold a new meeting at the level of foreign ministers, A meeting was held in Istanbul between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

coarse force

In turn, Omer Ozkilcik - a foreign and security policy analyst in Ankara - stated that pressure on Russia in Syria is an attempt by Turkey to force Russia to be more serious in negotiations.

"If you want Russia to make a deal and reach understandings, you need to be strong in this area, and you need to use hard force, Turkey has been doing that for the past few years and it is still doing it," he added.

Ozkilcik pointed out that Ankara, which this week launched a new attack on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, may seek to use its influence on Russia to obtain the green light for a similar operation in northern Syria.

Analysts say the latest Turkish move will further complicate Russian logistics services in Syria, after Turkey restricted the passage of foreign warships from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean shortly after the start of the Ukrainian war.

According to the Turkish press, Turkey will remain open to commercial flights to and from Russia, refusing to follow the European Union in closing its airspace to Russian flights due to the importance of Russian tourists to its economy.

After closing Turkey's airspace, Russia has only one air port left to reach Syria, and it passes through Iran and Iraq, but this port takes longer compared to Turkish airspace, and thus creates some logistical problems.

The closure of the airspace, along with the closure of the straits at the logistical level, poses a challenge to Russia's ability to ensure the activities of its forces in Syria, as the supply and early replenishment operations of Russian forces in Syria are usually carried out through the regular flights of Russian landing ships.


The strongest response

This announcement is considered one of the strongest responses of Turkey - which has maintained a close relationship with Moscow despite its membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - to Russia's two-month-old military attack on Ukraine.

Turkey has good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, and has sought to mediate the war between them, as Cavusoglu confirmed that talks are continuing between the two parties, and that they are working to formulate a joint declaration.

Ankara hosted meetings between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul and another meeting between Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Antalya.

It is noteworthy that relations between Ankara and Moscow witnessed a brief decline after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Turkish-Syrian border in 2015, but they improved until the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine, which Turkey considers an important trading partner and diplomatic ally.

Ankara is currently seeking to organize a summit in Istanbul between Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, although Cavusoglu admitted that the possibility of similar talks is still slim.