Another perfectly timed atrocity might ruin another Moscow-led peace process

Paul Kaiser

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said that a "chemical attack" (and a hospital bombing, for good measure) in a jihadist-controlled town in northwestern Syria endangers the fragile ceasefire and peace talks in Astana.

“President Erdogan said that this kind of inhuman attack was unacceptable and warned it risked wasting all the efforts within the framework of the Astana process” to bring peace to Syria, presidential sources said.

The sources did not indicate who was to blame for the attack, describing it as a “chemical weapons attack directed at civilians”.

Erdogan had been outflanked by Moscow and his own NATO ally in northern Syria. So whoever dumped that toxic gas: Perfect timing.

Maybe the Turks can help with the impending investigation? The have some firsthand experience when it comes to chemical weapons in Syria:

Yes, we're witnessing another perfectly timed atrocity to derail Moscow's diplomatic efforts.

In September of last year, a ceasefire in Syria was called off after "Syrian or Russian warplanes" were accused of bombing an aid convoy.

And let's not forget about Ukraine. MH17 happened at a time when, according to the BBC, Putin “had joined Germany and France in a diplomatic effort to promote a political settlement within Ukraine that would also take Russia’s interests into account” and “the Obama Administration’s attempts to rally the Europeans around the sanctions agenda appeared largely ineffectual.”

This is all part of Putin's 11-demensional chess strategy to derail his own peace efforts, right?

Look at where this alleged chemical attack took place: In a mountain hideout. Is this also the local hangout for bored teenagers?