Putin Must Seek Justice For Peshkov

This is what makes Erdogan's betrayal so bitter; it's because Erdogan knows what Putin is doing in Syria. He's not trying to recreate the Russian Empire. That's baloney. He's involved in an existential struggle for Russia's survival. Erdogan knows that but, even so, he has thus aligned himself with Washington and entrusted his country's future to an organization that is nothing more than a Mafia protection racket, NATO. Is it any wonder why Putin is pissed?

Here's what needs to happen now: Erdogan needs to see that his dependence on the US and NATO is going to come at a very high cost for himself and his country, after all, Washington knows that they have Erdogan over a barrel and they will certainly exploit that in every way possible. For one thing, Erdogan will be expected to take orders from Washington just like all the other US puppets. He's not going to like that.

Second, Turkey is not going to be the EU's gas hub now that Putin has put the kibosh on Turkstream. The hostility between Turkey and Russia will likely impact Iran's decision to use Turkey as a transit site for Iranian gas too. In other words, by refusing to apologize, Erdogan has compromised not only its country's independence, but damaged its long-term economic prospects that are part-and-parcel of its advantageous strategic location which puts Turkey at the epicenter of the world, the de facto land bridge between Europe and Asia. Erdogan has sacrificed all that to preserve his felonious ISIS oil smuggling operation and to continue to support his loser-terrorist buddies that are decimating Syria.

All this could be reversed with a simple apology and by meeting Putin's reasonable demands for making amends.

And what would Putin's demands be?

Most likely, Putin would insist that Erdogan stop all support for anti-regime forces now operating in Syria. That's number one.

Number two: Erdogan would be asked to actively and sincerely encourage leaders of the anti-regime militias to accept the terms of an immediate ceasefire and to participate in negotiations for a political settlement to the four and a half year-long war.

Putin has never lost sight of his primary goals which are to prevent regime change, to maintain the sovereign integrity of the state, and to kill or capture all terrorists operating in Syria. If Erdogan agreed to these terms, Putin will have achieved all of his objectives; displaced Syrians will be able to return home, life will gradually return to normal, and Peshkov will have gotten the justice he deserves.