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Turkey Curries NATO Favor by Opening Airspace to French Jets

© AP Photo / French Air ForceThis photo released on Friday, Oct. 9, 2015 by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) shows a French army Rafale fighter jet on the tarmac of an undisclosed air base as part of France's Operation Chammal launched in September 2015 in support of the US-led coalition against Islamic State group
This photo released on Friday, Oct. 9, 2015 by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) shows a French army Rafale fighter jet on the tarmac of an undisclosed air base as part of France's Operation Chammal launched in September 2015 in support of the US-led coalition against Islamic State group - Sputnik International
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The decision by the Turkish government to allow French aircraft carrying out airstrikes on Daesh access to its airspace is intended to shore up NATO's relationship with Turkey and diminish the possibility of French cooperation with Russia, lawyer Ali Riza Aydin told Sputnik.

European Council President Donald Tusk, right, puts his arm on the shoulder of Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu after a media conference at an EU-Turkey summit in Brussels on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2015. - Sputnik International
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The Turkish government's decision to open its airspace to French aircraft carrying out airstrikes against Daesh in Syria, and give logistical assistance to France's aircraft Charles de Gaulle at the port of Mersin is based on questionable legal grounds, leading Turkish lawyer Ali Riza Aydin told Sputnik. 

"When two countries participate together in military action, according to Turkey's constitution that has to be approved by the Turkish parliament," said Aydin.

"At the present time it is unclear whether France is acting in the framework of the international agreement among the countries of the Alliance, or its forces are in Turkish airspace at Turkey's request, as was the case with the deployment of Patriot air defense systems in Turkish territory."

"This issue has to be investigated, in order to find out whether the Turkish-French agreement is in accordance with the norms of constitutional law," said Aydin, a former constitutional court judge.

Turkey's geographical position gives it a favorable place in the alliance, and being able to use its airspace for airstrikes is in keeping with NATO's strategy of extending its presence further into Turkish territory, despite links between Turkish officials and jihadi terrorists.

A volunteer holds up a baby as others help migrants and refugees to disembark from a dinghy after their arrival from the Turkish coast to the Greek island of Lesbos, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015. - Sputnik International
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That process began with the opening of the Incirlik air base to the US air force, and continued with the deployment of Patriot missile-defense batteries, and with the scheme to train and arm opposition groups in Syria, said Aydin.

"The opening of Turkish airspace to French aircraft can be called an attempt to relieve a certain pressure inside NATO, and give an answer to Russia's political and military maneuvers in Syria," said the expert.

"This strategy of the alliance is above all linked to the desire to gain benefit from military action, to establish new forms of cooperation between NATO members."

"France and Turkey are two countries which, in a very short space of time, suffered terrorist attacks in their capitals, and have been chosen for this role," said Aydin. 

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