Since the evacuation of rebel forces from Aleppo in December, the level of violence in Syria has declined and many commentators see the conflict as entering its endgame. But what are the chances of Russia and its partners Iran and Turkey bringing peace to Syria?
Participants at a Chatham House conference held on March 15, ‘Syria: International policy options after six years of failure’, looked at the interests and goals of the outside powers.
For Turkey the immediate goal is combatting what it sees as an ‘existential threat’ from the self-governing Kurdish cantons in northern Syria along the Turkish border. ‘Turkey does not distinguish between Kurdish political rights and a Kurdish military threat,’ said Zeynep Kaya of the London School of Economics.
