Turkey deploys tanks, military vehicles to border with Iraq
Turkey’s defense minister said Nov. 1 his country is making preparations for “all kinds of possibilities” after the military began deploying tanks and other vehicles to the border with Iraq.
Fikri Isik said the deployment is in response to “important developments in our region,” including events in neighboring Iraq and Turkey’s fight against outlawed Kurdish rebels.
“On the one hand there is a serious struggle against terrorism inside Turkey, on the other hand there are important developments on the other side of the border,” the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Isik as saying. “Turkey is in the position of making preparations for all kinds of possibilities.”
Turkish state media, quoting unnamed military sources, reported that tanks and military vehicles were moving from Ankara and the nearby province of Cankiri toward the border town of Silopi.
The deployment comes days after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Turkey would be closely monitoring Shiite militias’ behavior in northern Iraq and seeking to safeguard the rights of ethnic Turkmens there. Erdogan said the militia group could prompt a Turkish response if it “terrorizes” the Iraqi-Turkmen town of Tal-Afar.
Last week, Erdogan also suggested that Turkey’s military could pursue Kurdish rebels across the border into northern Iraq’s Sinjar region, which he said was fast becoming a new base for the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.
Turkey’s air force regularly carries out raids in northern Iraq against targets of the PKK, which has led a three-decade-long insurgency against Turkey from bases in northern Iraq.
Violence between the Turkish security forces and the PKK flared last year following the collapse of a fragile peace process. AP
Russia protests pressure to deny port access to its warships
Russia’s defense minister is assailing NATO for applying pressure to deny port access to Russian warships en route to Syria’s shores.
Sergei Shoigu said Nov. 1 the denial hasn’t affected the mission of a Russian aircraft carrier group, adding that it has all the necessary supplies.
The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and escorting vessels are now in the Mediterranean, heading to Syria’s coast. Russia had sought permission for some of the ships to call at Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, but later withdrew its request as NATO allies piled pressure on Madrid over concerns that the ships could be used to ramp up air attacks in Syria.
Shoigu said, “It’s time for our Western partners to determine whom they are fighting: terrorists or Russia.” AP
NATO, Russia to hold parallel drills in the Balkans
NATO is holding an emergency exercise drill in Montenegro while Russian troops will participate in a war game in Serbia as the two Balkan neighbors seem to be heading in different directions strategically.
The five-day drill in Montenegro that started Oct. 31 includes fighting floods and chemical attacks. It will involve 680 unarmed personnel from seven NATO countries and 10 partner states.
The 13-day armed exercise in Serbia, dubbed “The Slavic Brotherhood 2016,” began Nov. 2. It will include 150 Russian paratroopers, 50 air force staffers, three transport planes and an unspecified number of troops from Serbia and Belarus, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.
Both Serbia and Montenegro — a single state before their split in 2006 — are traditional Russian Christian Orthodox allies. But since the split, Montenegro has pursued pro-Western policies, while Serbia has been struggling to wrestle away from the Moscow grip.
Montenegro has been invited to join NATO, despite strong opposition from Russia. Serbia is under strong pressure from the Kremlin not to join the Western military alliance or the European Union.
Serbia, a NATO partner, has held exercises with the Western alliance, but not such a large one or with foreign troops and equipment participating on its soil.
Montenegrin officials have accused Russia of standing behind an alleged coup on election day earlier in October to topple the pro-Western government because of its NATO bid. Some 20 Serbian citizens were arrested in Montenegro during the vote, suspected of trying to stage the coup, while Serbian authorities reportedly deported an unspecified number of Russian operatives from their territory. AP