The rapid downfall of Syrian leader Bashar Assad has touched off a new round of delicate geopolitical maneuvering between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In 1952, a very secular Turkey joined NATO amid concerns that the Soviet Union be problematic. Membership in NATO provided Turkey with a hedge against invasion. Then, when the Soviet Union fell, Neo-Ottomanism began to rise.

It's now all collapsed, with the Syrian dictator himself fleeing to Moscow, leaving the future of Russia’s military bases, resource enterprises, and exiled generals — dispatched to Syria after failing the “special military operation” (SVO) in Ukraine over the past two years — hanging in the balance.

Lavrov reaffirmed that Russia continues its contact with the new Syrian administration and has no plans to withdraw its diplomatic presence from Syria.

President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, could gain the most from the downfall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. Not only would it boost his influence in the region, but it would also enable him to pursue ambitious plans for creating a major gas hub.

When Russia intervened in Syria together with Iran and Hezbollah, they thwarted Türkiye’s ambitions to orchestrate regime change in Damascus. The Syrian deployment was just one part of the puzzle, as Russian President Vladimir Putin piled geopolitical pressure on his Turkish counterpart,

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan both see an opportunity to advance their competing interests in post-Assad Syria.

Addressing an event in the capital Ankara on Wednesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye cannot be leashed and “escape its fate.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urges the international community to exert pressure on Israel to comply with the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. View on euronews

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye and Lebanon are on the same page regarding the re-establishment of order in Syria, as he

Türkiye’s critical role in post-Assad Syria unfolds in a new strategic environment where the Iranian axis is weakening and the Turkish-Arab alliance is strengthening. This gives Türkiye an advantage in stabilizing Syria, where it can count on the support of Arab countries and work in coordination with them.