The Impact of Syrian Crisis on Iran-Turkey Relations

Research Fellow at the Institute for Middle East Strategic Studies (IMESS) in TehranWhat impact has the Syrian crisis had on Iran-Turkey political relations? Some analysts argue that divergence in Iranian and Turkish outlooks and roles played in the Syrian crisis have adversely affected their bilateral relationship. But the authors believe that in spite of the conflict in Iran’s interests and Turkish policies towards Syria, their broader relations in other areas –security and economy- have prevented the rupture of political relations. In this regard, after briefly describing the nature of the Syrian crisis, Turkish foreign policy strategy in the Middle East will be explained. Then, Turkish-Syrian relations prior to the outbreak of the crisis will be analyze, followed by a discussion of Iranian and Turkish foreign policies towards the Syrian crisis and their impact on their mutual relations. The authors will conclude that although the Syrian political crisis has given rise to certain tensions and adverse consequences in their political relations, their bilateral ties have persisted as manifested in high-ranking diplomatic meetings between their political authorities and in ongoing deliberations on important regional issues.