Wednesday, August 25, 2021
Tensions between Russia and Turkey escalate over the Crimean Peninsula. Turkey, one of Russia’s long-time antagonists, recently refused to acknowledge Russia’s sovereignty in Crimea. The historically volatile nation lies on a cultural/political fault line. Such “fault lines” are regions where empires and/or diverse ethnicities meet (see the work of Samuel Huntington and Niall Ferguson). The stress caused by these interactions inevitably leads to conflict. Indeed, the peninsula has been the site of several wars and genocides.
Russia and Turkey’s predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, already fought one major war over the region. This conflict, the Crimean War (1853-1856), was one of the bloodiest struggles of the modern period. The Turks and their allies (Britain, France, Sardinia) lost almost 300,000 lives. Russia alone suffered over 400,000 casualties including 143,000 dead. Recently, Turkey has been rattling its saber. There have been several minor engagements in the region resulting in the loss of several Russian planes.
Such provocations seem foolish on the part of Turkey unless the Turks know that they will receive aid from Russia’s enemies. One should ask, who would gain from such a conflict. It is no secret that American neocons have been working through NATO to destabilize the region. They’ve been pushing for an invasion of Syria and meddled in Ukrainian elections. They view Russia as their enemy and must know that a proxy war fought between Russia and Turkey could undermine Russian influence in Crimea, Ukraine, and Syria.
This is a foolish gamble on the part of the neocons. President Vladimir Putin made it clear that Russia has a vested interest in maintaining its influence in the region. Neocon allies like Turkey and Israel lack the ability to project power and would have to rely on their air forces alone in such a conflict. The US, as seen by the recent US withdrawal from Afghanistan, is in no shape to wage another pointless war. But the specter of American casualties didn’t stop them from invading Afghanistan or Iraq in the first place. It is well past time that the US removes these people from power.
Turkey’s refusal to recognize Crimean Peninsula as Russian is now main thorn in side of partnership between two nations – Kremlin
https://www.rt.com/russia/533017-turkey-crimea-russian-part-refusal/ Russian Su-24 fighter jet shot down over Syria - Russian MoD (VIDEO) Russian Su-24 fighter jet shot down over Syria - Russian MoD (VIDEO) — RT World News
Russian Su-24 fighter jet shot down over Syria - Russian MoD (VIDEO) — RT World News