Turkey, Russia and Iran meet in Doha seeking exit from Syria chaos
The Hindu
Turkey, Russia, and Iran navigate complex relationships in Syria, seeking stability and a transition government without Assad.
Turkey's Foreign Minister will meet with his Russian and Iranian counterparts in Doha on Saturday to try to find a solution to the renewed fighting in Syria and avoid chaos on its doorstep.
The three countries have been partners since 2017 in the Astana process seeking to end the civil war in Syria even if they have supported opposite sides on the battlefield.
Moscow and Tehran have offered military support to help President Bashar al-Assad crush the opposition.
Meanwhile Ankara, without being directly involved, has supported various rebel movements and looked on their recent lightning advances favourably.
"For Ankara, there is both opportunity and risk in Syria's changing balance of power," said Hamish Kinnear, an analyst at consultants Verisk Maplecroft.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who this week called on Assad to "reconcile with his people", said Friday he "hoped the advance of the rebels would continue without incident", openly identifying their objective as Damascus.
Turkey is no simple bystander, sharing a 900-kilometre (560-mile) border with Syria and hosting nearly three million Syrian refugees.
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