Turkey and Syria crisis; from mediation to support of the Syrian opposition

Turkey and Syria had close relations in Ottoman times. When Ataturk came to power in Turkey and new Syria''s borders determined by France، these two countries became separated. Changes after World War II conducted these two countries in two different ways and their separation lasts for years. Until beginning of 21st century three main conflicts had influence on their relations and even encouraged them into military conflict. In 2002، when Justice and Development party came to power، Turkey''s foreign policy experienced a lot of changes and relations with Syria became better. But from 2011 onwards، the internal Syrian crisis has intensified. Turkish foreign policy has fluctuated between Mediation and intervention towards the crisis. This study seeks to explain the evolution of Turkish foreign policy towards Syria based on the new ottomanism of AKP party. The results show that Turkey initially sought a peaceful resolution of the crisis through internal reforms by the Syrian government. But some regional and trans-regional factors led Turkey away from mediation policies to support the Syrian opposition publicly and want to change the political system in Syria. It seems that Turkey''s concerns about the future of Syria''s political system and its attempts to misuse the Syria crisis to obtain the leadership of Islamic world in regional aspect and improved relations with Europe union in international aspects are main factors that affect Turkey''s policy against Syrian crises.