"... An element of discord has indeed appeared in Turkish-Iranian-Syrian ties, which had been on a steady upward curve. The issue also likely involves Hezbollah and (or) Hamas, and we may not have heard the last word...Turks are some of the oldest practitioners of modern diplomacy. They know tensions are building up in Syria, and Ankara has taken a prescriptive approach toward Damascus by openly and repeatedly calling on President Bashar Assad to reform....
The sudden Turkish belligerence toward Syria has a complex backdrop... Again, Turkey has been reaching out to Hezbollah and Hamas, bypassing Syria's (and Iran's) claim to be their interlocutor, in an effort to enhance its regional credentials and burnish its standing with Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. The GCC states, on their part, regard it a good thing that Ankara is willing to shoot across Tehran's bow. Unlike the case with Iran, whose objectives vis-a-vis Hezbollah and Hamas are viewed in zero-sum terms by Saudi Arabia, Turkey's efforts to advance its political status are not perceived as aimed at threatening or marginalizing Riyadh's interests. Therefore, the visit by the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal to Ankara last week assumes great significance. The Saudis have been apprehensive about the flowering of Turkish-Iranian ties. Riyadh is deeply concerned that Tehran may turn out to be the real beneficiary of the current turmoil in the Middle East. The Saudis see that only Turkey can act as a counterweight to Iran in the emergent scenario where Egypt is in a shambles and US regional policies are in disarray. But at the same time, Saudis were disenchanted that Erdogan's ebullient "Third Worldism" was becoming too radical whereas in the end everything in the New Middle East ought to come down to sectarianism - Turkey is Sunni (and Salafi), so is Saudi Arabia, but Iran is Shi'ite, ... Faisal reminded the Turkish leadership that amidst the euphoria of the Arab revolt for democratization, it shouldn't be forgotten that, at the end of the day, through the Ottoman era Arabs preferred Sublime Porte to Persian hegemony. But Turkey doesn't need to be particularly reminded of that. The Ottomans had a thorough grasp of sectarianism in the Muslim Middle East..... Anyway, there has been a marked shift in the Turkish attitudes since Faisal flew back home from Ankara.
Turkey seems to weigh in that with the dramatic decline in the US' influence and profile, the Middle East is returning to its historical divides and there is a flock waiting to be led despite Iran's manifest desire to surge...
'Turkish-Qatari sponsorship for Saad's return'
Thus, while on the one hand, Ankara has brazenly intruded into the Iran-Syrian alliance and is dictating to Damascus to come back into the Sunni Arab fold (which the Alawaite regime cannot easily do), on the other hand, Davutoglu is heading for Manama next week to "see the situation on the ground" and follow up on the consultations he has had with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have been alleging an Iranian hand behind the Shi'ite uprising in Bahrain. ...., Turkey does not object to the Saudi intervention in Bahrain....It is highly unlikely that Tehran will be pleased with the sight of the Turkish diplomat wading into its Shi'ite backyard..... Turkey is only guardedly supportive of change of leadership in Yemen.How realistic are Turkey's neo-Ottoman ambitions? The hard reality is that despite sustained efforts Turkey is far from becoming a dominant factor in the Middle East. On the contrary, Turkey's proactive mode might end up generating anxiety in the region that it is intervening in intra-Arab politics. ..."
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