Washington behind 'message' to Moscow: 'Get out of the picture!'

[AP] ".... There's nothing magical about the timing. It's a coincidence resulting from the build-up of frustration in Ankara," said Fadi Hakura, a Turkey analyst at the Chatham House think tank in London. "Turkey wants to hasten the demise of the Assad regime in Damascus, but really its hands are tied."... "If it is acting with its allies, it's a clear message to Russia to get out of the picture and stop arming Syria," he added. "It is such a bold move, that one wonders if Turkey acted alone."

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland declined Thursday to comment on Turkish media reports that the intelligence on the plane's contents had come from the United States. But she told reporters that Washington backed Turkey's decision to intercept the plane....
The exact contents of the cargo are still unclear ... Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said late Friday that the plane was carrying radar parts for Syria, that the shipment complied with international law and that there was no weapon on board.
Lavrov said, however, that the cargo, consisting of "electric equipment for radars," was of dual purpose and could have civilian and military applications. The Russian company that sent it demands its return, he said.
Earlier, the respected Russian daily Kommersant quoted an unidentified source saying there were 12 boxes of spare parts for radars of the Syrian missile defense units.
"If the Kommersant report is right, you could speculate about this being part of a build-up to imposing a no-fly zone," said Hugh Pope, who leads the Turkey program for the International Crisis Group....
Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs, said the incident also wasn't about sending any messages to Russia in particular, because Russia's stance on Syria is already clear and isn't likely to change.
Lukyanov said the plane incident showed that Turkey is "getting really nervous" with hostilities raging near its border. "Turkey is trying to demonstrate how tough and capable it is."
Meanwhile, Russia's and Turkey's growing business ties could suffer, he said.
If Turkey keeps on getting involved in Syria, "the political situation in Syria will have an increasing influence on other areas of their (Russian-Turkish) relations," said Lukyanov. "No one wants to heat this up, but sometimes things get out of hand."