Failed coup threatens US fight against Islamic State
The attempted military coup in Turkey could hamper the United States in its war against Islamic State in Syria and undermine other US goals in the Middle East by weakening democracy and sparking prolonged instability in the Nato pact's only Muslim member.
Russia also said the failed bid may destablise the whole region.
"The flare-up of the domestic political situation against the backdrop of the existing terrorist threats in this country and the armed conflict in the region brings a heightened risk to international and regional stability,"Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
With the Turkish military and security services apparently split as gunfire and explosions rocked both Istanbul and the capital Ankara on Friday night, the United States made clear it was siding with the government of President Tayyip Erdogan.
Relations between Erdogan and the US administration have been rocky, but he has broadly cooperated in the fight against IS.
Whatever the outcome, analysts said, the US ally now faces a period of political and economic instability. That could divert the Turkish military and security services from stemming a recent series of attacks blamed on Islamic State, fighting a Kurdish insurrection and shutting off the flow of foreign militants across its border to and from Syria.
"From the US perspective, the worst case scenario might be an ineffective coup that pitches Turkey into a prolonged power struggle," said Blaize Misztal, the national security director at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
"Even a quickly executed coup which met little resistance would be destabilising, but a partial or unsuccessful coup would lead to much more instability ahead."
"This could be one of the most critical challenges of the Obama administration. A stable Turkey is crucial to American interests in the Middle East, the Balkans and the Caucasus," said Bruce Riedel, of the Brookings Institution and a former CIA analyst. "A democratic Turkey, even if flawed, is essential to any hopes of political reform in the Middle East."
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