I was among the group of journalists on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's plane heading to Hangzou, China, where the G20 Summit was held. Three days of the four-day trip passed quickly with a busy schedule of contacts. President Erdoğan and the delegation accompanying him made successive one-to-one meetings with major world leaders. Turkey was one of the leading countries in drawing attention at the summit. Everyone I came across asked about what happened on July 15 and how we could fight on so many fronts. As far as I can see, the manipulative anti-Erdoğan news that circulated after July 15 was replaced by efforts to understand the reasons behind the coup attempt. They are gradually realizing the severity of the threat Turkey confronted. I also observed that the strict attitude against Erdoğan, which restrains the discussion of many subjects, had started to disperse. The fact that Turkey reentered the game in Syria and opened a place for itself on the table has a role in that.
During the summit, President Erdoğan had one-to-one meetings with U.S. President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Saudi Prince Bin Salman, European Parliament President Martin Schulz and European Council President Donald Tusk. As predicted, the most critical topic in the meetings was the Syrian issue. I also noticed that Erdoğan adopted positive language towards Merkel. In an interview he gave to us during our return, Erdoğan said, "I can say that Merkel is approaching the refugee issue more positively." He said once again that the readmission agreement and visa exemption must be added to the process. But this time, I observed in the president a more constructive tone with regard to the EU. I think this is a reflection of the meetings with EU leaders that ended positively.
Reentering the equation in Syria with Operation Euphrates Shield, Turkey started to have a voice at the negotiating table. It is possible to see this as the meeting traffic that happened during the G20 summit. Operation Euphrates Shield made DAESH retreat from the regions it occupied in northern Syria. But now, it is time to advance to the critical points, and some brainstorming is being done regarding what kind of problems might be encountered at those points. Al-Bab is the leading critical spot, which is seen as almost a Medina by DAESH. They marry women from al-Bab and really attach importance to this place. Seizing control in al-Bab is likely to be a more challenging task than seizing Jarablus. Raqqa is also another critical point, which is the center of DAESH in Syria. President Erdoğan commented with regard to the Raqqa Operation: "Obama particularly wishes to engage in joint action in Raqqa." He also implied that a joint operation might be favored by saying, "What is required can be done if our militaries gather together." However, seizing Raqqa seems to be quite challenging since it is far south. From the impressions I had from the meetings and the interview with the president, Turkey could support the Free Syria Army (FSA) and coalition, so the Turkish military's intervention in Raqqa is not projected.
Of course, there is also Aleppo in the equation. Assad, the FSA, DAESH and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) are currently striving to gain dominance over Aleppo, the center of a major power struggle. The clashes in Aleppo have caused great losses. Also, Aleppo has a symbolic importance for Turkey. In the following period, Aleppo will be the center of focus since the consolidation of the FSA in the city means its confrontation with Assad and Russia. Turkey endeavors to reach an agreement with Russia on Aleppo and wants a ceasefire until Qurban Bayram. For this, a busy schedule of meetings has already been kicked off between the foreign ministers of Turkey, the U.S. and Russia.
In a nutshell, Syria continues to be the space where the great powers of the world share the land, but Turkey's intervention accelerated efforts to come up with a solution and started a real struggle against DAESH. One can immediately notice the power it bestows on Turkey in international meetings.
