The reality finally surfaced after returning from the world of dreams and fears. Turkey is now a significant and realistic agent in the Middle East again. Its targets, principles, allies and the possible limits of its actions are obvious. The basis of this new position is the motive of defense and protection. Although limited, the channels that would improve and reinforce Turkey's real power in the region through cooperation will be opened more explicitly from now on.
When looking back, Iran's success is very clear. Thanks to DAESH, it rendered the Sunni opposition illegitimate even though it constituted the majority, and guaranteed the permanence of Assad on behalf of stability.
Those Kurds and Turks who had been expecting the PKK to lay down its arms are now being pointedly told that “it will be a long time before our guns fall silent, for we still have a long way to go.”
While the PKK and PKK-affiliated PYD are co-operating with Russia, which is taking advantage of the conflict between Turkey and terrorist organizations, Kurds see the U.S. as their partner in the region
While this last crisis appears to be a “Russo-Turkish conflict” at first sight, at a closer look it reveals a complex, multi-dimensional alignment. We are going through a phase when it becomes especially important to proceed calmly from the facts to objective assessments.