Following the attack against the Russian Ambassador in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan telephoned Vladimir Putin to explain the situation in the Turkish capital. After all the two leaders have been talking almost daily in the past week on developments in Aleppo and the evacuation of civilians from the city.

The trilateral meeting  between the Foreign Ministries of Russia, Iran and Turkey taking place in Moscow to discuss and reach an agreement on developments in Aleppo, has already been announced. The meeting does not foresee the presence of any other representative of another country or international organisation.

Analysts believe that the terrorist attack will not cause rupture in Russian-Turkish relations it will on the contrary strengthen them against the “common enemy” which is jihad, as the attack took place in the Turkish capital.

The recapture of Aleppo had already made the Turkish authorities fear of retaliation thus taking extraordinary measures outside embassies, government buildings.

The Islamist Al Nusra and many other terrorist organisations fighting in Aleppo against the Assad forces and Iranian militants regard the Ankara – Moscow partnership as a betrayal as far a Syria is concerned.

Until a few months ago Ankara did not hide the political and material support it provided the opposition forces in Syria. The aim was to overthrow Assad, who Erdogan called a “cold dictator” while former Prime Minister Ahmed Davutoglou promised the opposition a common prayer with the opposition forces in Damascus and Aleppo.

Things changed after Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s apology to the Russian President last July for the shooting down of the Russian fighter jet in November 2015. Since then Turkey has been cooperating with Moscow in combating the jihadists and has sealed the borders of the Syria, causing the reaction of many of the forces of the Syrian opposition.

Turkey states that it has never supported the jihadists in Syria and gives the Euphrates Shield Operation it has began three months ago in Syria as an example.

Protests have been taking place in Istanbul and Ankara in the past few days against Iran and Russia who support the President of Syria Bashar al-Assad. The recapture of Aleppo from government forces has caused the reaction of extremist islamists.

Furthermore it is considered that the operations against the Islamic state which Ankara has been participating in, in the past year, through the international alliance,have been the cause of the attacks by jihadist suicide bombers outside the Hagia Sophia and Istanbul’s airport in 2016.

Political analysts believe that Al Nusra is behind the terrorist attack against the Russian ambassador in Ankara. The analysts fear that in the event of the seizure of Mosul and Raqqa by international forces, the jihadists will retreat from these areas and will head to an unknown destination.

Source: balkaneu.com