According to several media, Hakan Fidan, the head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, recently condemned Russian military intervention in Syria by saying Vladimir Putin was trying to smother the rise of political Islam in the guise of ISIS, or the Islamic State. He further urged the world to accept ISIS, reportedly saying:
ISIS is a reality and we have to accept that we cannot eradicate a well-organized and popular establishment such as the Islamic State; therefore I urge my western colleagues to revise their mindset about Islamic political currents, put aside their cynical mentalité and thwart Vladimir Putin’s plans to crush Syrian Islamist revolutionaries.
Fidan also advised the Islamic State to set up a consulate or at least a political office in Istanbul to help it deal with the vast number of foreign jihadis trying to reach Syria.