Russia’s latest military moves in Syria — which include renovating and expanding the airport at Latakia, the dispatch of hundreds of military advisers to train regime forces and the supply of advanced weaponry to the Syrian army — have compounded Turkey’s frustration with this ongoing crisis. Moscow's activities, details of which can be found in Fehim Tastekin's Sept. 11 article for Al-Monitor, represent another spanner in the works thwarting Turkey’s desire to see the earliest possible demise of Bashar al-Assad and his regime.

As Tastekin notes, Russia’s moves may have also sounded the death knell for what little hope there had been for the establishment of the “safe zone” Turkey wants to establish along its border with Syria. Ankara says the zone will be allocated for refugees as well as moderate groups fighting the Assad regime. Moscow argues that such a zone would violate Syrian sovereignty. The issue remains academic at this stage, however. The establishment of a safe zone has only received tenuous support from the United States and Turkey’s other NATO allies, which have not shown any interest in supplying the ground forces necessary to protect it.

The broader issue concerns Moscow’s determination to continue supporting Assad, which is thwarting Ankara’s plans for the future of Syria. Ulrich Speck of the German Marshall Front argues that Moscow's loss of ground in Ukraine is increasing its determination to ensure that the same does not happen in Syria.

Although displeased with the recent turn of events, Ankara’s ability to put pressure on Moscow in regard to Syria is extremely limited. Turkey’s vast economic stakes in Russia and its strategic cooperation in the energy field also serve as brakes.