'Turkey Has Become a Danger for Everyone' - French ex-General

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's double-dealing with the Daesh (also known as ISIL) terrorist group is a danger for the entire world, retired French general and analyst Vincent Desportes told Sputnik France.

According to Desportes, the current crisis surrounding Turkey's actions toward Russia, Syria and Iraq cannot be resolved until Turkey decides which side it it is on, and who its true enemy is. Kurdistan remains Turkey's biggest source of worry, Desportes said, adding that Erdogan's "real enemy is not the Islamic State, but the Kurdish independence movement."

"The duplicity of Turkey is in that it is in NATO, yet absent from it, that it wants to be in Europe, but while together with it, it is double dealing with Daesh," Desportes said.

Turkey recently downed a Russian plane over Syria, and has invaded Iraq's Mosul region. In Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkey reportedly bombed the Qandil mountains, where it believes camps of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, an opposition group banned in Turkey, are located. Syrian Kurdish forces, which receive aid from the US, have also been under attack from Turkish-backed rebels in recent months.

"Turkey actually presents a danger for everyone. To resolve the crisis, Turkey needs to be brought to reason, so that it understands its true interests, and not the short-term ones," Desportes added.

According to Desportes, Turkey's isolation is also unhelpful to the situation, as the country's behavior is main problem the international community must now solve.