"Opposition to Ankara's Policies in Syria Increasing among Turks"

[Pundita note: Still, about half those polled support their government's encroachments in Syria or have no opinion.]

August 13, 2018
FARS

TEHRAN (FNA)- Ankara's interference in Syria's affairs has been widely criticized by people in Turkey, a prominent journalist said, adding that the problems related to the Syrian refugees in Turkey will be resolved after the reopening of Ankara's embassy in Damascus.

"Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been severely criticized politically, even by the (ruling) Justice and Development Party, on Syria," Islam Ozkan told the Lebanese Arabic-language news website al-Ahd on Monday.

He added that all critics believe that such a policy on Syria will have consequences for Turkey because Ankara should have played a mediatory role between the militants and the Syrian government since the first days but instead it supported the militants by sending weapons and paved the ground for their traffic to Syria.

"According to the polls, 40% to 50% of Turkish people are opposed to Turkey's policies on Syria, among them supporters of the Justice and Development party," Ozkan said.

Turkey has supported the terrorist groups in Syria militarily and logistically.

Ankara has launched air and ground operations around the area of Afrin in Syria to oust the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as a terror organization and the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK).

Ankara opened a new front in Syria’s nearly seven-year-old war on January 20, launching airstrikes against Kurdish fighters in Afrin in Aleppo province.

According to reports, Turkish tanks are supporting the Free Syrian Army’s ground offensive on Kurdish positions in Syria’s Afrin region, as [since?] operation "Olive Branch" has started.

The Syrian government has condemned the “brutal Turkish aggression” against the Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin, rejecting Ankara’s claim about having informed Damascus of the operation.

[END REPORT]

********