(By PNW) Turkey, which had been a long-time US ally, continues its process of re-Islamification under President Erdogan at the same it forges closer ties with Russia. On September 28th, Putin visited Erdogan in Ankara to discuss the situation in Iraq and Syria as well as increasing trade between Russia and Turkey. The two nations have come a long way since the diplomatic incident in 2015 caused by Turkey shooting down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border.
The two countries have often found themselves at odds during the Syrian conflict, with Russia a stalwart supporter of the Assad regime while Turkey has given support to the regime’s enemies. Now however, the two leaders are working to set up “de-escalation zones” within Syria to bring a measure to calm to the region. After the talks, Erdogan reported that the leaders had focused on stopping the fighting in Syria’s northern province of Idlib, which sits near the Turkish border, and pledged his support for a political end to the conflict. CONTINUE
