(EDM) The massive and indiscriminate air strikes and the limited land offensive into Kurdish-controlled northern Syria launched by Turkey last Wednesday (October 9) have attracted prime international attention and caused much dismay in Washington, DC; but Moscow has remained uncharacteristically silent about the explosion of armed hostilities in such close vicinity to the Russian area of operations. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov received a phone call from his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, on Tuesday but refrained from expressing any reservations about the Turkish intervention (Mid.ru, October 8). The following day, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey called President Vladimir Putin who advised the Turkish leader to assess carefully the consequences of the military operation (Kremlin.ru, October 9). Moscow’s official expression of “serious concerns” followed only on Friday, but the Russian call to all parties to show “maximum restraint” was manifestly irrelevant (Mid.ru, October 11). The commentary in Russian mainstream media emphasized Moscow’s readiness to facilitate dialogue between Ankara and the Kurds, which was clearly not accepted (Rossiiskaya Gazeta, October 10). The long-planned Turkish offensive—not to mention Erdoğan’s intentions vis-à-vis the Kurdish-held territories in Syria—could not have been a surprise to the Kremlin. Thus, the Russian side’s deliberate show of indifference following the beginning of the Turkish campaign may signify a careful search for the best way to exploit this opportunity. […]
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