Kurds have a long memory. Kurds in Iraq have achieved near-independence, and wish to join their countrymen now living in Iran, Syria, and Turkey.
Turkey borders Iraqi Kurds, Iranian Kurds, and Syrian Kurds. The Syrian Kurds are especially hard-hit by the Syrian civil war. It is in Turkey's interest to support Kurds, who are under attack by ISIS.
Russia's southern republics are separated from Turkey only by Georgia. Jihadists are killing ethnic Russians and are being killed by the Russian army. The rise of ISIS strengthens Russian Jihadists.
Russia and Turkey have a common interest in seeing the defeat of Jihadist groups in Syria. Russia is already involved in that effort. but works at odds to the West.
Turkey and it's neighbors
Turkey's proximity to the Russian South and what Kurdistan would look like if implemented
ISIS Jihadists, not intended to be representative
Articles from the International Business Times and RT, reprinted after the jump, show how far apart they are from central NATO objectives. Turkish internal politics cause it to dither. Russia sees NATO's involvement as a disastrous repeat of Bushco's adventure in Iraq.(RT, an official Russian government newspaper, reads like a propaganda piece, and may not represent Russian government's thinking. One hopes that is the csd.) We'll see how long it takes the parties to recognize that Obama has international policies differ from Bushco's.
Vote for the next US president who shares Obama's foreign policies.
