Foreign Affairs

Turkey has legitimate interests in its immediate neighborhood but it had to re-evaluate its strategy towards Syrian conflict. It has to realize that its policy of allowing rebel fighters, arms shipments and refugees to pass through its territory has been exploited by Islamic State to expand their network. Moreover, Turkish-backed rebels in Syrian arena are not game changers now and fighters like the Kurds and IS who have grudges against Turkey as well are now significant players in Syrian war. So now Turkey should consider its own internal security and stability as its prime goal rather than promoting its political agenda in Syria. In regard to that: Turkey should keep strict vigilance over its border with Syria and crack down on Islamic State and its sleeper cells in Turkish territory.