Convergence of interests is a reality that usually trumps all other considerations. One of its glaring examples is how Turkey, Iran and Russia have pledged to accelerate efforts to bring stability to Syria, underlining their joint commitment to the country a day after President Donald Trump raised the prospect of withdrawing US troops, although Iranian President Hassan Rouhani strongly believes that the US would continue to stay in Syria. Unlike Russia and Iran, Turkey is against the Bashar al-Assad government in the Syria theatre. A statement by the three countries after a summit meeting in Ankara has said that they are determined to 'speed up their efforts to ensure calm on the ground' in Syria. That the US has been gradually losing its influence in the region following the invasion of Iraq in 2003 is a fact. Not only does the formation of an alliance comprising two countries that are unambiguously hostile to the US and its interests in the region - Russia and Iran - and a NATO member US ally, Turkey, showcases the convergence of interests of the countries pursuing varied objectives and interests in the region, it also provides some relief to Moscow that has been facing diplomatic isolation in the West in the aftermath of the UK nerve gas attacks controversy. It is not known whether or not the newly-formed trio will eventually lead towards creating viable peace in Syria anytime soon, but the prospects of peace have suddenly received a boost following their meeting in the Turkish capital. Turkey, which is supporting the anti-Assad rebels and has waged a military campaign to drive Kurdish YPG fighters from north-western Syria's Afrin district, was perhaps left with no other option but to reach out to both Iran and Russia to free itself from the Syria entanglement in order to protect and preserve its strategic and economic interests.
This development certainly underlines these three countries' central role just as questions grow over Washington's commitment. President Trump wants US troops out of Syria relatively soon as he is unwilling to back a long-term commitment in a country area where around 2,000 US troops are on a mission to battle the remnants of the Islamic State group that once controlled the area. Their summit has certainly led to catapulting Iran into a position to not only gain certain strategic advantages but also expand its clout even beyond Syria. The Islamic republic, unlike Turkey, has no border with Syria but has acquired a predominant position in this civil war-ravaged country. An upbeat President Hassan Rouhani of Iran has therefore plausibly argued that developments in Syria, where the Syrian army and its allies, Iran, Hezbollah and Russia, have driven back rebels in recent years, has shown that the United States has 'failed to topple the Syrian government' of President Bashar al-Assad. "They wanted to fuel insecurity in order to maintain their own interests but they have gained no success," the Iranian President has been quoted as saying at the end of talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The three countries are therefore required to articulate a cohesive and concerted response to the Syrian situation, ensuring that neither do their moves undermine the United Nations-mandated peace-seeking efforts, however feeble, in Syria, nor do they lead to escalating tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia or aggravating the Yemen conflict.
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