SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"Just one spark may set the entire region on fire and open the door for the conflict," Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said in an interview Wednesday morning. (Photo: Reformlar.gov.tr)
As Tensions Soar, Turkey Warns US Bombing of Syria Could Set Entire Middle East 'on Fire'
"If an attack occurs against the forces backed by Russia or there is an attack by the U.S.-supported forces, Russia won't be able to stay away. So, serious clashes may start."
Apr 11, 2018
As fears of a possible direct conflict between Russia and the United States mounted after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Moscow to "get ready" for missiles that "will be coming" at Syria in a series of tweets, Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said in an interview Wednesday morning that a clash between the two nuclear powers in Syria could have devastating consequences across the Middle East.
"Just one spark may set the entire region on fire and open the door for the conflict."
--Nurettin Canikli, Turkish Defense Minister"Just one spark may set the entire region on fire and open the door for the conflict," Canikli said in an interview on 24TV, a Turkish news broadcast.
"If an attack occurs against the forces [in Syria] backed by Russia or there is an attack by the U.S.-supported forces, Russia won't be able to stay away, otherwise it will lose its influence. So, serious clashes may start," Canikli added, urging the U.S., Russian, and Syrian governments to "act with restraint."
The Turkish defense minister's stark warning comes on the heels of several early morning tweets by Trump that intensified concerns that the U.S. is preparing to launch a military attack on Syria, risking a direct confrontation with Russian forces stationed in the country.
In an interview Tuesday night ahead of Trump's series of tweets--which insisted that poor relations between Russia and the U.S. are largely due to special counsel Robert Mueller's collusion probe--Russian ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin warned that any U.S. missiles fired at Syria will be "downed" along with "the sources from which the missiles were fired."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As fears of a possible direct conflict between Russia and the United States mounted after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Moscow to "get ready" for missiles that "will be coming" at Syria in a series of tweets, Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said in an interview Wednesday morning that a clash between the two nuclear powers in Syria could have devastating consequences across the Middle East.
"Just one spark may set the entire region on fire and open the door for the conflict."
--Nurettin Canikli, Turkish Defense Minister"Just one spark may set the entire region on fire and open the door for the conflict," Canikli said in an interview on 24TV, a Turkish news broadcast.
"If an attack occurs against the forces [in Syria] backed by Russia or there is an attack by the U.S.-supported forces, Russia won't be able to stay away, otherwise it will lose its influence. So, serious clashes may start," Canikli added, urging the U.S., Russian, and Syrian governments to "act with restraint."
The Turkish defense minister's stark warning comes on the heels of several early morning tweets by Trump that intensified concerns that the U.S. is preparing to launch a military attack on Syria, risking a direct confrontation with Russian forces stationed in the country.
In an interview Tuesday night ahead of Trump's series of tweets--which insisted that poor relations between Russia and the U.S. are largely due to special counsel Robert Mueller's collusion probe--Russian ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin warned that any U.S. missiles fired at Syria will be "downed" along with "the sources from which the missiles were fired."
As fears of a possible direct conflict between Russia and the United States mounted after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Moscow to "get ready" for missiles that "will be coming" at Syria in a series of tweets, Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said in an interview Wednesday morning that a clash between the two nuclear powers in Syria could have devastating consequences across the Middle East.
"Just one spark may set the entire region on fire and open the door for the conflict."
--Nurettin Canikli, Turkish Defense Minister"Just one spark may set the entire region on fire and open the door for the conflict," Canikli said in an interview on 24TV, a Turkish news broadcast.
"If an attack occurs against the forces [in Syria] backed by Russia or there is an attack by the U.S.-supported forces, Russia won't be able to stay away, otherwise it will lose its influence. So, serious clashes may start," Canikli added, urging the U.S., Russian, and Syrian governments to "act with restraint."
The Turkish defense minister's stark warning comes on the heels of several early morning tweets by Trump that intensified concerns that the U.S. is preparing to launch a military attack on Syria, risking a direct confrontation with Russian forces stationed in the country.
In an interview Tuesday night ahead of Trump's series of tweets--which insisted that poor relations between Russia and the U.S. are largely due to special counsel Robert Mueller's collusion probe--Russian ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin warned that any U.S. missiles fired at Syria will be "downed" along with "the sources from which the missiles were fired."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.