It is unlikely that the Erdogan government will succeed in provoking Moscow and Damascus into a direct confrontation with Ankara, US syndicated columnist Stephen Lendman notes, adding that the two capitals will not tolerate Turkey's naked aggression either.





Russia's Ministry of�Defense has voiced its growing concerns over�Turkey's potential preparations for�an invasion of�Syria.

"Russian MoD registers a growing number of�signs of�hidden preparation of�the Turkish Armed Forces for�active actions on�territory of�Syria," the Ministry of�Defense tweeted Thursday.


Russian MoD registers a growing number of�signs of�hidden preparation of�the Turkish Armed Forces for�active actions on�territory of #SYRIA



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?"We have serious grounds to�suspect the intensive preparations by�Turkey for�a military invasion on�the territory of�the sovereign state of�Syria. We are recording more and more signs of�concealed preparations by�the Turkish military," Defense Department spokesman General Igor Konashenkov said in�an official statement.


In his article for�Global Research, Chicago-based syndicated columnist and author Stephen Lendman calls attention to�the fact that only days earlier Turkey was spotted shelling on�northern Latakia province populated by�Syrian civilians.


#????? ?????????????????? ?????????? ??�??????? ??????: ?????????? ????????? ?????.??????? ?�???????? ?????????????https://t.co/40Ng7DFO0G



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?To complicate matters further, Ankara recently denied a Russian observation flight over�its territory, permitted under�the Open Skies Treaty (OST).


Yesterday Turkish MoD officials refused Rus specialists to�perform flight over�areas near #Syria & airfields with #NATO military hardware



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General Koshenkov branded the move as "a dangerous precedent" and "an attempt to�conceal illegal military activity near�the border with�Syria."

Indeed, Ankara's actions have prompted justified suspicions.

On February 4, Russia's Ministry of�Defense released satellite imagery showing that the terrorists which captured Aleppo and Idlib in�Syria have been supplied through�checkpoints on�the Turkish-Syrian border near�Sarmada�� Reyhanli.


Oct.26,2015: parkings for�trucks on�Turkish side & terrorist-controlled part of�Syrian border are empty at�daytime pic.twitter.com/Sub9UWaVWh



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?According to�the Ministry of�Defense, Turkey's pads shown on�the images are used to�support rapid movement of�military convoys; lots of�them can be found along�the Syria-Turkish border, "some of�them with�military hardware and personnel."


Picture taken Jan.30,2016 shows these parking rapidly enlarged & even protected. Moreover, their surface's worn out pic.twitter.com/FMn7bEST7c



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?"Therefore, the prohibition of�our observers' Open Skies flights by�Ankara will not hide the illegal Turkish military activity in�the region," the Defense Ministry tweeted Thursday.


Therefore, the prohibition of�our observers� #OpenSkies flights by #Ankara will not hide the illegal Turkish military activity in�the region



��?????????? ?????? (@mod_russia) 4 ??????? 2016

Interestingly enough, NATO officials and so-called human rights groups on�the ground in�Syria have turned a deaf ear to�Russia's concerns.
"All Turkish military actions are approved by�or complicit with�Washington. [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan would never act unilaterally on�his own, not even aggressively against�his own Kurdish population, slaughtering civilians in�cold blood," Lendman suggests, adding that the Russian intelligence service is obviously keeping an eye on�Ankara.



In response to�Moscow's accusations the Turkish leadership claims that it is not planning a military incursion into�Syria.

"Turkey does not have any plans or thoughts of�staging a military campaign or ground incursion in�Syria," a senior Turkey government official told Reuters on�February 5.

The statement does sound reassuring. On the other hand, one should keep in�mind that Ankara did not call its de-facto military invasion of�Iraq a "ground incursion," but�rather a "deployment of�protection unit" aimed against�Daesh (Islamic State/ISIL).

The crux of�the matter is how Moscow and Damascus will respond to�Turkey's possible intervention, Lendman notes.
He believes that the Erdogan regime will fail to�provoke Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad into�direct confrontation. At the same time they will not "tolerate naked aggression, threatening their national security."


By Sputnik