Phase 2 of Sykes-Picot is underway: Turkey's Kurtulmus

Turkey's deputy premier said Wednesday that as countries of the region such as Syria and Iraq suffer, the Middle East is now in the midst of "phase two" of the infamous Sykes-Picot Agreement.

"The big picture is very clear and distinctive. After 100 years, the Sykes-Picot signatories, who won World War I by creating countries with artificial borders and resetting the political order, unfortunately succeeded and are now planning phase two of the pact," Numan Kurtulmus said on the sidelines of a signing ceremony in Ankara between Anadolu Agency and the Medya-Is Labor Union.

On terror attacks and related developments at home and abroad, such as the deadly New Year's Eve attack at Istanbul's Reina nightclub, Kurtulmus said, "All terror attacks are part of the big picture. If you don't get that, you cannot make sense of terror attacks. Otherwise, all terror attacks remain just criminal cases.

"Turkey is the only country which will not allow this big picture to be realized. Since it sees the big picture."

He said phase two is trying to sow more regional crises and instability, adding, "There is no difference between incidents in Mosul, Iraq or Aleppo, Syria from the politics of [digging] trenches in southeastern Turkey or the Reina terror attack."

"Turkey is leading a peace perspective in the region. Turkey is doing its best to ultimately reach a consensus agreement between the Syrian regime and the opposition," he added.

On Turkey's recently improved ties with Russia, he said, "In this regard, Turkey and Russia are involved in an important political rapprochement, and this will yield results despite any provocation."

Signed in 1916, the Sykes-Picot Agreement laid out British and French spheres of influence in the Near East following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

The secret talks that led to the agreement – held between French diplomat Francois Georges-Picot and the U.K.'s Mark Sykes – were soon revealed by the communists after they took power in Russia in 1917.

Under the pact, the Fertile Crescent was carved up between the two European powers, with Syria and Lebanon falling to France while historical Palestine (including what is now Jordan) went to Britain.

Iraq was divided between the two powers, with Baghdad and Basra going to Britain and Mosul going to France.

Anadolu Agency