What Are Turkey and Russia Doing in Syria?
When an off-duty police officer fatally shot the Russian ambassador in Turkey on Monday, he reportedly shouted: “Don’t forget Aleppo. Don’t forget Syria.” Russia has attracted broad international condemnation for its role in the sustained siege and bombardment of rebel-held enclaves in Aleppo, which in recent days fell to the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies.
Turkey and Russia have been on opposite sides of the conflict, with Turkey arming fighters opposed to Russia’s ally Assad. Last November, Turkey a Russian military jet it said had violated its airspace, prompting a rupture in relations. Following an attempted coup against him over the summer, though, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid his first post-coup visit to Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the rift. Last week, Turkey and Russia with Syrian rebels, and without the United States, to evacuate civilians from Russia, Turkey, and Iran are still scheduled to meet in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the situation.
