News / Interviews

Turkey facing two-front war due to Kurdish problem: Analyst

Friday, 06 January 2017 5:51 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 06 January 2017 5:51 PM ]

Cars burn at the site of an explosion in front of the courthouse in Izmir, Turkey, on January 5, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

A car bomb blast near a courthouse in the Turkish city of Izmir left two people dead and several others wounded on Thursday. The incident comes as Turkey is still reeling from a fatal shooting spree in Istanbul, which turned New Year celebrations there into a time of mourning. The Turkish justice minister later said the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group was behind the explosion.

Bill Jones, with Executive Intelligence Review, believes Turkey will have to deal with a “two-front battle” if it fails to find a negotiated solution with the country's Kurdish population.

“If the Turkish government can find a way to come to some negotiating position with their own parties within Turkey, with the Kurdish parties in Turkey, they could tone down that conflict and bring to bear a greater force in dealing with the situation with Daesh,” the analyst told Press TV in an interview on Friday.

“But if they are going to continue cracking down on the Kurds, refusing any voice for them within the Turkish political scene, then they are going to be dealing on a two-front war, which is going to be very difficult for them to win,” he added.

Jones also noted that the Daesh Takfiri group will carry out terrorist operations against Ankara in response to its recent tilt to Russia with regard to the Syrian crisis.

Therefore, he said, Turkey has to come to grips with the Kurds who have proven to be "effective" in the fight against Daesh.

The analyst further stated that Turkey has changed its policy towards Syria due to "having been neglected by its old ally, the United States," and a contention on the fact that it is never going to be a part of the European Union.

He also added that Turkey’s relationship with Russia, which is of both economic and political benefit to the country, has become "a central focus of the Turkish foreign policy."

Jones said in conclusion that Turkey will proceed to fight against Daesh rather than pursuing its previous policy of trying to “foment rebellion” and overthrow the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

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