Turkey has to break its Syrian stalemate

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has turned out to be the main catalyzer of developments in Syria, putting powers which are otherwise rivals in a more cooperative mode over this crisis. But what does this mean in terms of Turkey?s expectations? 

Ankara?s policies continue to be based solely on seeing the back side of Bashar al-Assad and on preventing the Syrian Kurds from gaining more ground. One does not have to dig too deep in between the lines of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu?s recent remarks to reporters in New York to understand that these remain Ankara?s main concerns. 

The problem is that Turkey is rowing against a current that is getting stronger. It is apparent that for Washington and key European countries like Germany, the question of Assad is increasingly of secondary importance when compared to the need to deal with ISIL and the Syrian refugee problem. 

Russia, on the other hand, is more resolute than ever in supporting Assad. Iran, the other significant player Syria, is on the same page with Russia in this regard.  But what is uniting all these diverse powers, from the U.S. to Iran, today is the threat they perceive from ISIL. 

The half-hearted contribution by Turkey to the U.S.-led coalition?s operations against ISIL show that Ankara?s interests are still not in tune with emerging developments on Syria. On the contrary, there seems to be a diametrically opposed relationship here. The chances for Turkey to realize its expectations in Syria get weaker as the international community comes more in line on the issue of ISIL and Assad.

There is also the fact that while Assad is a universally hated figure in the West, his continuing presence is emerging as a lesser evil given the possibility of...