Now that the tension surrounding US pastor Andrew Brunson has blown over, there is speculation that Turkey and the United States will move to improve their troubled ties. For example, cooperation between Ankara and Washington over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi brought US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and CIA Director Gina Haspel rushing to Ankara. Still, differences remain over multiple unresolved issues.
Northern Syria, where the United States has allied itself with the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG) — two groups that Turkey says are terrorist organizations linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) — may be the site of the next flashpoint.