With Trump's backing and after his gains in Syria, Erdogan is moving to insert Turkey into the Lebanese arena. His intended target for political influence, Sunni politicians and MPs in Beirut, is expressing lack of enthusiasm and even dissa...
With Trump's backing and after his gains in Syria, Erdogan is moving to insert Turkey into the Lebanese arena. His intended target for political influence, Sunni politicians and MPs in Beirut, is expressing lack of enthusiasm and even dissatisfaction in closed conversations, a Lebanese source told Kann.
The opposition ties to three factors: bad memories of the Ottoman era in Lebanon, Erdogan's Islamist ideology, and a preference for the long-standing Saudi patronage of Sunnis and other communities over Turkish patronage.
Unlike Saudi Arabia, Turkey holds no influence over Lebanon's Sunni lawmakers, but they are closely tracking Erdogan's moves, especially his influence over neighboring Syria. Days ago, Erdogan hosted Sunni PM Nawaf Salam in Ankara with full honors.
"The Lebanese leadership cannot publicly oppose the Turkish involvement, only deal with it pragmatically, certainly when the U.S. president supports Erdogan," the source said.
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