Turkey will be in tough talks with Russia, US on Syria after referendum

A heavy loaded foreign policy agenda is awaiting Turkey in the post-referendum era, regardless of the result on April 16. 

One of the most important and immediate issues Ankara will face is likely to be the upcoming Raqqa operation under the leadership of the United States and with the participation of the international coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). It is believed that the operation will start in the days after the referendum.  

That was why Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Işık paid a snap one-day visit to Washington on April 13 to once again reiterate Turkey's readiness to carry out this much-anticipated operation jointly with the U.S. and other partners, on condition of the exclusion of the People's Protection Units (YPG). 

Although Ankara is aware that it is not realistic to expect a drastic change in Washington's plans for the liberation of Raqqa with the YPG alliance, it once again warned about the potential consequences of this cooperation, as well as security measures that the Turkish security forces could take in the event that the country's security is threatened.  

The meeting would also create another opportunity for the Turkish government to discuss potential American contribution or even involvement in Turkey's preparations for potential action against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) presence in Iraq's Sinjar province on the Syrian border.

Işık's meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis came only a day after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's crucial visit to Moscow, which seemingly resulted in gradual de-escalation of tension between the two rivals over issues concerning Syria. Turkey welcomed the U.S. attack on the Syrian airbase after the chemical attack,...