Turkey’s Uphill Battle in Syria
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Sinan Ülgen Article June 9, 2014
This piece is part of the Global Dynamics of the Syrian Conflict series, in which Carnegie experts from all over the world analyze the strategic and geopolitical interests at play in the ongoing civil war. View the full series here.
Before the onset of the Arab Spring, Syria was the poster child of Turkey’s “zero problems with neighbors” policy. Following years of tension, Ankara and Damascus had initiated a process of rapprochement leading to joint cabinet meetings and ambitious plans for a Middle East common market that they would spearhead. Despite criticism from its Western allies, Turkey had defended this policy by arguing that its engagement with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was intended to curb Damascus’s reliance on Tehran.
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