David Barchard: Alliance possible between Ankara and Damascus

David Barchard, a Turkey-based commentator, has written for MEE that - despite condemnations of Turkish intervention in northern Syria - a Turkish presence in the north could herald a possible alliance between Ankara and Damascus, as both governments begin to perceive the pro-Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) as a major threat in the region.

"Could Turkey make the forces of Assad its proxies against the Kurds? Wednesday's operations at Jarablus may point against this - but the possibility cannot be ruled out," he wrote.

"It may seem unlikely after four years of bitter attempts to overthrow the Syrian leader. Yet last week Syrian government forces struck at Kurdish targets in the north-eastern Syrian town of Hasakah by land and air, encountering stiff Kurdish resistance. Some sort of behind the scenes dialogue is also apparently taking place. Turkish newspapers on Monday leaked news, admittedly unconfirmed, of a possible secret visit to Damascus by a senior member of Turkey’s intelligence services.

"The latest operations could bring about a sea-change in the Syrian civil war. But for the victims of IS’s bombings in Gaziantep, Istanbul, Ankara, and other towns, there will be little comfort. The sleeper cells which strike at innocent people from out of nowhere will still be lying in wait."

Read the full piece here.