Tabnak - Not even a week has passed since the Turkish Prime Minister announced the end of his country’s military operation in Syria, but discussions have already begun about a possible new military move by Turkey in the war-torn country. This has sparked discussions on what Ankara really pursues in Syria.
Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced on March 29 the successful completion of the "Euphrates Shield" military operation in northern Syria, but suggested the country may launch other cross-border campaigns in the future.
Now, less than a week after Yildirim’s announcement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country is planning new offensives this spring against groups deemed terrorist groups by Ankara.
Erdogan said more cross-border operations would follow against groups like the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Kurdish units known as People’s Protection Units (YPG). "We are making preparations for new operations in other regions to get to terrorists on their hills," Erdogan said on April 3.
"The new operations will have different names. We have new surprises for all terror groups including the PKK/PYD, Daesh (ISIS) and the FETO who are looking forward to the spring," Erdogan added.
"God willing, the following months will be the spring of Turkey and Turkish people, and the deadly winter of terrorists."
Before him, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik had said Friday that the end of Turkey’s military operation in northern Syria did not mean threats were over. "When the need arises and a threat occurs against Turkey's security, Turkey will not hesitate to conduct other operations in order to eliminate this threat," he said.
In an analysis of the issue, Aljazeera writes that Yildirim's March 29 announcement was not surprising as it came after the operation reached its "natural limits", but the analysts do not expect Turkey to leave the region anytime soon.
"Yildirim's announcement was merely an acknowledgement of the situation on the ground," Atilla Yesilada, a political analyst with Istanbul's Global Source Partners, told Al Jazeera. "At the moment Turkey has little room for maneuver in northern Syria - in both diplomatic and military terms."
In another take of the situation, Scott Peterson writs in the Christian Science Monitor that although on paper, the US and Turkey are on the same side in the fight against ISIS, on the battlefield, as a key offensive nears to force IS out of its Syrian capital of Raqqa, the two NATO allies could not be further apart in their choice of the means to do the job.
In this situation, it’s possible that Turkey’s cease of its operation in Syria is just a temporary move to analyze the developing situation on the ground and also the roles and interests of the other parties involved, so that it could devise an updated plan to reach its goals in the country, the most important of which is securing Ankara’s influence in Syria in the post-war period.
