Erdogan sees Turkey in neo-Ottoman role

by PressTVGlobalNews

A prominent analyst tells Press TV that what Turkey is seeking through fueling the flames of the Syrian crisis through arming the al-Qaeda and radical terrorists is to become the hegemony of the Islamic world.

Moscow says it is waiting for an official explanation from Ankara about its refusal to let Russian diplomats in Turkey meet the Russian passengers aboard a plane intercepted and forced to land in the Turkish capital.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan later said the grounded plane contained "equipment and munitions sent for the Syrian Defense Ministry from a Russian institution." The Syrian foreign ministry dismissed Turkish premier's claims, saying that Erdogan "continues to lie in order to justify his government's hostile attitude towards Syria."

Also on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov highlighted that "there were, of course, no weapons on the plane and could not have been any. There was a cargo on the plane that a legal Russian supplier was sending in a legal way to a legal customer."

The foreign minister added the Russian company that sent the legitimate "electric equipment for radars" cargo to Syria would demand that Turkey return it.

Press TV has conducted an interview with James Jatras, former US Senate Foreign Policy analyst, to further discuss the issue.

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