The revolution and pacts (47). Ring of bilateral pacts (ix). Turkish provocation (I). Syrian opposition to the Baghdad Pact was also rooted in the uneasy relations between Syria and Turkey. Turkey shares its longest common border with Syria. In spite of certain geographic, cultural, religious and historical links that tie the two neighbouring states together, relations have always been strained. The friction has been due to disputes including the annexation of the Hatay Province to Turkey in 1939, water disputes resulting from the Southeastern Anatolian Project, and Syria's support for outlawed Kirdstan Workers Party (PKK). Turkey's accession to the Baghdad Pact meant, hypothetically at least, that Turkey would receive adequate support from the other members of the Pact as well as from the US in any potential conflict with any of its neighbours, including Syria. Hypothetically because such are, or should, be the main objective of any such pact. However, in the particular case of the Baghdad Pact, the principal target was to contain Soviet expansion in the region. Little attention was paid to bilateral conflicts such as the Indo-Pakistani, the Arab-Israeli and the Turco-Syrian conflicts. Nevertheless, shortly after the signing of the Bagdad Pact, Turkey began to launch test balloons as if to test the effectiveness of the new arrangements that were being made in the Middle East in response to the creation of the Baghdad Pact. The Egyptian Gazette of March 27, 1955 reported these developments in a story headlined: ‘Mediation unnecessary and undesired, says Syria's pact directed solely against Israel' The Gazette report (from Damascus) said: “The Foreign Ministry issued a statement this afternoon denying reports that a certain Arab country was trying to mediate between Syria and Turkey and that Syria welcomed such mediation.” The statement said the Syrian government had told the Arab country concerned that such mediation was out of place and unnecessary...” A Syrian source said that the Egyptian-Syrian alliance was purely defensive and was not directed against Turkey or any other country. It is for Arab defence against the Zionist danger.....” Sayed Sabry el-Assaly, Syrian Prime Minister, today reiterated that the new Arab alliance was not directed in letter or spirit against Turkey but was only directed against Israel, the Arabs' major enemy. (To be continued next week) [email protected]
