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Turkey squeezed as US-Russia tensions rise in Syria

Since the suspected chemical weapons attack by Syrian regime forces in Douma, Turkey has been producing conflicting messages, visibly torn between its strategic interests in Syria and ties to NATO and the West.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin meets at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey April 3, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - UP1EE431A7CYB

The limits of Turkey’s balancing act in Syria are being exposed as the prospects of a military confrontation between the United States and Russia over Syria continue to grow.

Ever since last Saturday’s suspected chemical weapons attack by regime forces in Douma, Turkish leaders have made a series of conflicting statements mirroring the tension between what Ankara defines as its strategic interests in Syria and its institutional ties to NATO and the West.

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