Prof. Ofra Bengio has written an article in the Jerusalem Post, where she examines the current relationship between Russia, Turkey, and Iran.
"The erstwhile unipolar world where the US was the only power in the Middle East has disappeared and the resulting vacuum enabled Russia to spread its influence in many countries in the region and become the arbiter in the simmering conflict in Syria. This structural shift has convinced Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to follow the adage “if you cannot beat your enemy, join him.”
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