What game is Turkey playing in Syria?

The article draws attention to the serious intensification of Turkey’s foreign policy, which seeks to become the most influential state in the Middle East region and to receive the status of one of the world’s leading powers in the foreseeable future. Ankara’s area of special attention is neighboring Syria. Turkey raises the question of the need to conduct military operations in northern Syria areas under the pretext of creating conditions for protecting its territory from Kurdish paramilitaries. The various directions of activities of the Turkish authorities aimed at expanding their presence in these regions are also considered. Syrian leadership believes that Ankara is leading the matter to the absorption of these territories, changing their ethnic composition. It is emphasized that Russia consistently stands for ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria. In pursuing this line, Moscow naturally takes into account the realities of the region and the situation in Syria. It is in Russia’s interests to refrain from aggravating relations with the current leaders of Turkey and to use the potential of the Astana negotiation format. At the same time, the Russian Federation considers the return of all Syrian territories under the control of the legitimate government in Damascus as a condition for achieving a lasting settlement of the crisis in the SAR and around it. From the point of view of creating a predictable, stable situation in the region, such a development of events also corresponds to the national interests of Turkey itself.