Turkey Distances Itself From Iran, Russia

Turkey on Monday made a point of distinguishing between its own policies in the Middle East and those of Iran and Russia. Turkey, said Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag, does not stand with or against any country on Syria, The National reported. The comments by Bozdag were in response to a reporter’s question about an earlier remark from French President Emmanuel Macron, who said Turkey’s support of missile strikes against Syria showed it had “separated” from Russia. “Turkey’s Syria policy isn’t to stand with or against any country,” Bozdag told reporters. “Turkey’s stance has not changed. We are also against the unconditional support for the [Syrian] regime and we are at odds with Iran and Russia on this,” he said. Despite Turkey’s cooperation with Russia and Iran—Damascus main supporters--to abate Syria’s ongoing war, Ankara has been vocal about wanting to see the embattled Syrian  president gone and has even backed rebels against him. The US, Britain and France fired more than 100 missiles at Syria on Saturday following an alleged chemical attack they claimed President Bashar Al-Assad was responsible for.