Publication

This commentary discusses the implications of the Kurdish issue and the Syrian civil war for Turkish security policy. It argues that the problems and Turkey’s security policy are interrelated. As a result of the evacuation of the Syrian regime’s troops, the Kurdish organizations took over control of the northeastern region of Syria. Turkey fears that the Syrian Kurds’ autonomy will become a base for PKK guerrilla attacks on Turkish territory, and does not rule out intervention in Syria. Any involvement of Turkey, the US or NATO in the Syrian conflict should, however, mean equal treatment of all Syrian ethnic groups.