Turkey plays both sides in Iran, Saudi conflict
Does Turkey courting Iran and Saudi Arabia simultaneously mean Ankara is moving away from Sunni-based policies?
Ankara is developing a dual-track approach to the Middle East by simultaneously courting bitter rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran to shore up its position in a region that has defied its plans and ambitions to date. Foreign policy experts say this new approach, which they consider to be a “work in progress,” has the potential to make Turkey an influential regional player again if it is allowed to mature.
This new approach has already resulted in a spate of high-level recent visits between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and Turkey and Iran. Turkey remains unhappy, of course, about Tehran’s support for the Bashar al-Assad regime, while Iran is unhappy about Ankara’s support to anti-Assad groups in Syria.
