Dead-pan claims

The head of the intelligence of any country with a state tradition is too sorry to say a word. If he speaks, it means that this decision was made after very serious consultations. There is no question of a long speech by the current head of the intelligence.

Because different meanings can be derived from each word. Given these rules, the fact that the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia accused Turkey of "bringing jihadist organizations from Syria" about 10 days ago should not be considered normal.

Because, on the one hand, the person in charge of the foreign intelligence of a large country spoke, and on the other hand, he accused another important country.

Like the Soviet-era red-flag press, the Turkish media, which has been overly praising its government, has either not seen or been reluctant to see the accusation. However, it was the duty of that media to follow the words of the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.

Some Russian-language websites also kept the words of the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service on the agenda, alleged that some groups "brought by Turkey from the Middle East to the South Caucasus" attacked police in Dagestan, and members of a group of four preparing to carry out a terrorist attack were killed in Chechnya. The President of Chechenya also made a statement on this.

Although the Turkish media did not raise the issue, according to the Russian media, which published the same content, during a telephone conversation between Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, the Russian minister also expressed concern on this issue.

On top of it, some websites also published telephone and wireless conversations between people from the Middle East, who were allegedly involved by Turkey in military operations in Karabakh. In other words, the accusation that "Turkey is involving people from the Middle East" in the operations carried out by Azerbaijan to liberate its lands is a state policy of Russia.

Because it has reached the level of heads of state, the Turkish president responded to the concerns of the Russian president with confidence and a little laconically, "those children have more serious work in their countries."

The joint position of Turkey and Azerbaijan on these allegations and accusations is quite right: "Azerbaijan has a strong enough regular armed force to cope with Armenia, there is no need to involve any legal or illegal additional forces."

Hence, it is necessary to look for an answer to this question: Russia claims that Turkey "brought members of radical jihadist organizations from Syria to the military operations in Karabakh". Although both Turkey and Azerbaijan have repeatedly denied this and the Russian media, especially some Internet websites, have tried to specify links to this claim, they are not very convincing. So why is Russia keeping this claim on the agenda?

Of course, the first reason for this was that Azerbaijan had come a long way in clearing its lands from the occupiers in a short period of time, and it was impossible for Moscow not to worry about Turkey's unconditional support for Azerbaijan in this process. Although this is moral support, It would be an anomaly that the resolute statements of the Turkish leadership, especially President Erdoğan, and the determination of a NATO country in the Caucasus after the Middle East and Libya would not bother Russia, which has seen these territories as its home for 200 years.

Apparently, Russia has determined that Turkey can be invited to help in an official letter (just like Syria invited Russia in September 2015) in the event of direct pressure on Azerbaijan by directly accusing Azerbaijan of military operations that began on September 27, and if Turkey goes to Azerbaijan with an official invitation, the balance in the Caucasus will change completely.

Therefore, instead of forcing Azerbaijan to take this step, it is trying to prevent Turkey by claiming that "you are bringing jihadist groups to the region". How long will these claims last, can they be proved, can Turkey's moral support to Azerbaijan be brought to a standstill? Do these allegations against Turkey indicate Russia's strength, or that it has already lost some of its former power in the Caucasus?

When looking for an answer to the question, do not forget how valuable democratic values are...

Mayis Alizade