Turkish-Syrian ties no strategic shift

WASHINGTON, May 8 (UPI) -- Though improved in recent years, a strategic alliance between Turkey and Syria does not reflect a troublesome shift in regional foreign policy, an analyst said.

Both countries approached the brink of war in 1998 following Ankara's displeasure with Syrian support for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.

Ankara and Damascus, however, signed a bilateral agreement in 2002 that allows both countries to coordinate their military activity.

Turkey, a NATO member, and Syria conducted their first-ever joint military exercise April 27, coordinating border forces during a three-day operation.

Both governments, meanwhile, signed a bilateral agreement on technical military cooperation in the defense sector the same day.

That effort is, in part, a reflection of the move by Syrian President Bashar Assad to ease at least some of the isolationist policies in his country.

While the joint efforts point to a growing shift in regional alliances, there is little to suggest it is part of a broader strategic alignment, Bilal Saab, a research analyst at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, writes for Jane's Foreign Report.

The cooperation makes sense as Ankara gets Arab help in controlling its Kurdish problem while Damascus can assert its position in opposition to Israel while easing border concerns with Iraq.

"Turkish-Syrian relations have come a long way since 1998, but they still fall short of a strategic alliance, lacing as they do the requisite parallel political visions for, and positioning in, the Middle East," Saab concluded.