The Syrian tragedy has its grimly amusing moments in the diplomatic sphere. Idlib Province is in Syria, and it’s where Turkey incursed after the United States withdrew last year. From AL Monitor:
Source: Wikipedia
The Turkish press has reported that Turkey asked the United States for aerial support over Idlib and is seeking Patriot missiles for air defense. This is another in a string of unprecedented inconsistencies in Turkish foreign and security policy displayed recently and becoming almost routine. It was the Turkish leadership’s resolve to acquire Russian S-400 air defense missiles that soured the relationship with the United States last year. Now, after paying $2.5 billion to Russia for the weapons, Ankara is seeking American Patriots against Russia’s air support for Syrian regime forces advancing on Syrian territory in Idlib.
Who ya gonna call? Well, whoever pissed me off last week, because now I’m mad at the other guys. I can see Bill Murray in a hazmat suit delivering that line.
Middle East diplomacy is quite the confusing mess.
