Posted on 07/03/25
| News Source: JPost
By strengthening ties with Israel, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is essentially trying to reduce Turkish influence in Damascus, Tel Aviv University's Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies's Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak told Maariv on Wednesday.
Sharaa is trying to reduce dependency on Turkey without completely severing ties, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is concerned as a country that was once under his influence may join the Abraham Accords.
Is Turkey's influence in Syria strong enough to prevent it from joining? A complex geopolitical struggle is unfolding with Turkey at the center.
Turkey sees every step Damascus takes toward joining the Abraham Accords as a direct threat to Ankara's regional position.
Sharaa's motives are far from ideological, however, Yanarocak argues. "Sharaa is making this move not because he's a Zionist, but because it grants him a sort of independence from Turkey," he clarifies.