OF THE
TIMES
Additionally, the Washington Post would note:Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized Monday for the downing of a Russian warplane in November and called for Russia and Turkey to mend a bilateral relationship that has become openly hostile over the incident.
One Russian pilot was killed last year when two Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian Su-24 warplane over Turkey's border with Syria in an unexpected clash that Russian President Vladimir Putin called a "stab in the back administered by the accomplices of terrorists."
Indeed, the fight against terrorism does truly require Turkey's aid. And its aid in this fight, particularly along the Turkish-Syrian border will serve as the true measure of Ankara's sincerity regarding its apology and regret for Russia's downed SU-24 warplane.In a statement, Erdogan's press secretary said Russia and Turkey "have agreed to take necessary steps without delay to improve bilateral relations," specifically noting regional crises and the fight against terrorism.


Comment: A local flare-up, or are some state actors playing the Kurdish card in Iran, as they have done and are doing in Syria and Iraq? With the Kurds it's unlikely. They have been 'at war' with Iran for over 30 years. The reason Iranian Kurds may be emboldened right now, or the Iranian government might be a little more concerned than usual, is the fact that the situation in Syria over the past 4 years has involved Western use of the Syrian Kurds and their desire for an independent state as a weapon against Assad. Such a situation would not only encourage Kurds across Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran, but also make the governments of those nations, in this case Iran, a little concerned about a potential 'flare up' in the Kurdish struggle for independence, and seek to keep a lid on it.