Turkey-Syria Border Tension: Three Things to Know
Videos

Turkey-Syria Border Tension: Three Things to Know

October 4, 2012 2:03 pm (EST)

Turkey-Syria Border Tension: Three Things to Know
Explainer Video

Turkey’s parliament has authorized the country’s military to take further action against Syria after a mortar attack on Turkish territory killed five civilians. CFR’s Steven A. Cook says the decision is unlikely to lead to war between Turkey and Syria for three reasons:

More From Our Experts
  • Turkish interests: While the Turks reserve the right to retaliate against Syrian provocations, they have also clearly indicated that "they are not interested in the Syrian conflict widening," Cook says.
  • Syrian interests: "Syrians don’t want war themselves," Cook says, and they have conveyed that cross-border shelling will not happen again.
  • The Kurdish factor: Turkey is also unlikely to pursue a full-scale invasion of Syria because it could encourage the nationalist sentiments of Syria’s large Kurdish population, and result in violent action by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Cook argues.
Close

Top Stories on CFR

Drug Policy

President Trump has imposed steep tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico in the name of curbing fentanyl flows into the United States. In reality, supplies of the drug—and related deaths—have sharply declined in the past year, though they are still at worrying levels.

United States

Panelists discuss how U.S. policy toward Russia may shift under a second Trump administration, including the use of sanctions, the continued war in Ukraine, Russia’s military capabilities, the political dynamics inside the Kremlin, and broader U.S. engagement with Moscow. This meeting is part of CFR’s Transition 2025 series, which examines the major foreign policy issues confronting the Trump administration. If you wish to attend virtually, log-in information and instructions on how to participate during the question and answer portion will be provided the evening before the event to those who register. Please note the audio, video, and transcript of this hybrid meeting will be posted on the CFR website.

RealEcon

The United States’ relationship with China is at a new low, but Trump has a chance to redefine bilateral relations by locking China into the U.S.-led global system