The balance of power is shifting in the Middle East – and it is Turkey’s ‘full moon’ on the rise
The fall of the Assad regime in Syria marks the end of Iran’s long-feared “Shia crescent” and the rise of Turkey’s “full moon”, reshaping the geopolitical landscape from the Horn of Africa to the Levant and Afghanistan. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s backing of the Syrian rebels has elevated Ankara to the status of a regional powerhouse, one whose influence now encircles all the major players in the region. Turkey played a pivotal role in the rebels’ surprising triumph. The operation unfolded with an extraordinary lack of the kind of violent destruction that has characterised Syrian campaigns over the past 13 years. Turkey provided intelligence, guidance and political cover. In the early years of the Syrian conflict, dozens of nations offered sporadic support to opposition groups, but Turkey’s commitment to the rebels in the north-western enclave near its border was consistent. Through ceasefires and frozen frontlines brokered since 2019, Turkey ensured that the rebels had the stability to rearm and reorganise.
Source: Hassan Hassan in The Guardian