U.S.-Turkey bilateral relations were discussed in detail in various different panels during the 5th Annual Conference of Insight Turkey organized by the country's think tank SETA foundation in Washington, D.C.

Ankara, one of the most geopolitically significant players in the Middle East, is determined to take a neutral path on the Saudi-Iranian conflict, yet still, in the near future, a strategic alliance between Ankara and Riyadh rather than Tehran, seems more likely.

With the increasing tension in relations with Iran due to the Syrian crisis, while relations with Saudi Arabia have been gaining speed in recent times, Turkey is required to take a more careful approach in politics.

Iran's sectarian expansionist policy forces the Turkish government to back the Saudi government. However, Turkey, as the only country able to prevent the power struggle between the two countries, is aware of the dangers of a possible sectarian war and thus calls the two countries to reconcile.

The policymakers in Ankara are required to accomplish a structural transformation program for socio-economic development, while fighting a low-intensity war in the southeast and overcoming the international repercussions of the crisis with Russia. Not an easy job for sure. But then, who said that politics was an easy job?

The HDP made significant progress in the political arena, but it must keep in mind that a toxic mix of violence and cross-national alliances will not secure legal status for their voters.

Over the next decade, Turkey will have no choice but to deal with the consequences of the PYD's potential rise to power in northern Syria. As such, it is simply unrealistic to expect Turkey to negotiate with the PKK at this time.

Although abounding in energy sources compared to other regions, the Middle East suffers from the increasing significance of the energy market in shaping the nations' foreign policy in the 21st century.

Civil wars in Syria and Iraq are reshaping the Middle East, followed by issue-based alliances, thinking ahead and working on multiple scenarios.

The fact that regional powers have been able to create a modest framework alone deserves some credit. They could, after all, help develop an Islamic language to discredit radical groups' terrorist agendas.

Moving forward, Kobani will be remembered as a transit route for terrorists and weapons as opposed to a glorified resistance-hence the Kurdish winter. Would the Kurdish nationalists hear Mr. Barzani out?

The grievous fact that hundreds of people were brutally killed and wounded by the latest suicide bombings in Ankara renders all strategies, political analyses and comments meaningless