What interest does Turkey have in the Syrian conflict?

#1. Turkey wants to secure Qatar-Turkey pipeline through Syria for the EU, which will not be dependent on Russian natural gas after that. #2. Turkey doesn't want a sovereign Kurdish state, obviously. It's not because of Turks hate Kurds, but an independent Kurdistan will prevent Turkey from spreading it's influence on ME. read more

For centuries, the Russia-Turkey-Egypt route has been a hotly contested strategic geographic area. It's been involved in the Crimea War, Russo-Japanese War, WW1 at Gallipoli, and the Suez Crisis. read more

This does not necessarily imply a break from Turkey’s alignment with the United States in Syria, but rather symbolizes a realist turn that takes into account balances on the ground, which compel Turkey to seek accommodation with the anti-Western bloc in Syria. read more

Turkey, which had had a relatively friendly relationship with Syria over the decade prior to the start of the civil unrest in Syria in the spring of 2011, condemned the Syrian president Bashar Assad over the violent crackdown on protests in 2011 and later that year joined a number of other countries demanding his resignation. read more