The Sochi agreement brokered by Turkey and Russia harbingers a new order in the Middle East and comes as the post-world war system in the region shows signs of collapse
Overall, the effects of World War I are still raging in the Middle East.
Even today, many disagreements and conflicts regarding the new borders drawn by Britain and France over the disintegrated Ottoman territories continue to stir up problems. The tension in the region escalated further with the formation of Israel, causing the Middle East to spiral into uncertainty that mirrored the aftermath of World War I.
The Idlib agreement, which was signed this week between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, might finally end the lasting effects of World War I for the Middle East while symbolizing the first step toward a new order.
Britain and France are no longer the decision-makers in the Middle East. In the new order, it seems that the Russia-Turkey and U.S.-Israel alliances might be the main influential blocs contending with each other.
With the preliminary work on the Idlib agreement, scheduled to take effect on Oct. 15, already underway, a Russian jet downed by Syria with the directive of Israeli jets indicates that the chaos in the new Middle East has taken a new turn.
In light of these facts, we must adopt an optimistic yet cautious approach to the Idlib agreement.
The political line articulated by Erdoğan, which aims to secure the lives of millions of civilians in Idlib, seems to have succeeded.
Terrorists and heavy weapons within a 15-20 kilometer demilitarized zone will be removed through the joint efforts of the Turkish and Russian military forces. Meanwhile, neither Russian nor Syrian forces will attack Idlib.
We must bear in mind some terrorists to be cleansed from the region, as part of the agreement, are allies of the U.S. It is highly doubtful that they will refrain from targeting Russian and Syrian bases with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and passively follow the developments leading up to Oct. 15. Or, as President Erdoğan pondered in Sochi, what will the U.S.-backed terrorists deployed east of the Euphrates do next?
It turns out that the Arab Spring did not bring winds of change, but a catastrophic whirlwind to the region, especially when the conditions of Syria, Libya and Egypt are considered.