The five days of intense diplomacy are here. The first step to determine northern Syria's fate was taken in Ankara, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. By Tuesday evening, a second step must be taken. In his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdoğan will complete the proposed safe zone's main framework.

In the last seven decades, since the beginning of the strategic relations between Turkey and the U.S., there have been different tensions and crises between the two countries. Observers and historians of Turkish-American relations have defined some of these crises as "turning points" and "critical junctures" that significantly affected the general trajectory of bilateral ties.

The Turkey-US agreement is a great second chance for Washington to reformulate its inconsistent Syria policy

Terrorist YPG/PKK's federation claim disappeared, Syria’s territorial integrity protected with agreement, say analysts

Yusuf Hamoud says they will protect rights of all minorities oppressed by YPG/PKK terror group in northern Syria

Since the recent phone call between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump last Sunday, we have seen that the major issue to debate has become the U.S. decision to withdraw from Syria. The intensity of objections to U.S. withdrawal from the area and the U.S. "green light" for Turkey's operation raised several questions about the arguments and rationale behind such criticism.

The primary purpose of the Turkish operation is to drive out terrorist groups threatening regional security and secure the area in line with international law

This analysis mainly focuses on the unification of all Syrian opposition under the Syrian Interim Government and gives policy recommendations.

Although their practices are already beyond the pale in terms of journalistic ethics, both the U.S. and the European media are apparently seeking to set a new record with regard to their old prejudices

What are the main objectives of the operation? What is the scope of Operation Peace Spring? What is the background of the operation? How will the operational process work? What are the reactions from the international community? How can they be interpreted?

On Monday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump made a highly anticipated phone call to inform Turkey that U.S. troops would leave northeastern Syria, where the Turkish military was going to launch an incursion..

Turkey has been repeatedly emphasizing its determination to clear its border with Syria from terrorist elements. For this reason, Turkish officials have been trying to persuade their American counterparts to stop supporting the People's Protection Units (YPG)/Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and not to oppose its long-planned military operation.

Tensions between Turkey and the United States are re-escalating. Washington is inclined to delay the Aug. 7 agreement on the creation of a safe zone in northeastern Syria. In other words, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is effectively ignoring U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to establish a 20-mile safe zone and seeks to stall the process – as it did in Manbij.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in his address to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), in the opening ceremony of the new legislative year, clearly outlined Turkey's position concerning the east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria.

The U.N. has unfortunately turned out to be a platform where the significance of multilateralism and global cooperation is increasingly ignored or even damaged

This week's attack on the facilities of Aramco, Saudi Arabia's national oil company, was no mere skirmish among proxies. Iran has allegedly fired missiles, loaded on drones, to strike at the heart of the Saudi oil industry. Although Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed the attack, already some fingers are pointing to Tehran. Hence a series of questions: have tensions in the Gulf, which have been escalating since May 2018, already spun out of control? Is the policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran giving way to war? Why did U.S. President Donald Trump escalate tensions right after sacking John Bolton, his hawkish national security adviser? What will be the Trump administration's military response to an attack that it considers a casus belli? As world leaders pack their bags for the United Nations General Assembly's opening session, the world is still trying to answer those questions.

Despite its ups and downs, the Astana Process is the only serious option currently playing a decisive role to create a permanent solution in the Syrian crisis