Turkey has been preoccupied for weeks with trying to prevent a Russian-backed operation by the Syrian regime against Idlib. But the developments in Manbij, the city just west of the Euphrates that is under control of the US-armed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), continue to be of prime concern for Ankara.
The deal brokered by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the weekend, forestalling an attack against Idlib for the time being, is expected to refocus Ankara’s attention on this issue.