Page 19 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE, V.72, # 1, 2015, pp. 5-26

the defeat of this movement makes Syrian Kurds stronger and simultaneously saves

the regime of Assad [25].

Many observers believe that Turkey is afraid of Shia-Alawi triangle Iran – Iraq

− Syria, taking into consideration that those countries intended to export Iranian gas

towards Syrian Mideterranian ports without participation of official Ankara. Iran

considers relations with Syria as tested by hard times and believes that Turkey tries

to intrude into its sphere of influence. As a result, Syrian National Council has the

headquarters in Istanbul and the volonteers of jihad arrive in huge numbers via

porous Turkish frontier and join the fight against Syrian troops [26].

Further deterioration of relations was caused by decision of Erdoğan‘s cabinet to

deploy NATO X-band radar in Kurecik in 2011. In 2013 Turkey asked NATO

partners to move «Patriot» PAC-3 to border region with Syria in order to protect

nearby towns from Scud missiles. But official Tehran considered this as the first step

towards creation of non-flying zone over Northern Syria and also believes that

«Patriots» is capable of protecting Israeli strategic installations and American military

bases in the Gulf from Iranian missile launches at their early stages [27].

Both countries also remain the main adversaries in Iraq. In 2004 Turkey and Iran

agreed to intensify military operations against Kurdish rebels and to tighten control in

their respective regions adjacent to Iraq. But several years ago Erdoğan and his party

suddenly decided to develop relations with Regional Kurdish Government in Erbil.

This activity caused condemnation of Iran and Iraq, while the previous Prime Minister

Nuri al-Maliki claimed that Turkey did not have a right to buy oil directly from Kurds.

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