President Recep Tayyip Erdogan set to meet...>

TURKEY: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan set to meet Russian President Vladimir

Putin in Moscow today in an effort to reduce tensions between the two countries.

- Turkish troops have clashed with the Syrian military (backed by Russian troops

and materiel) in Idlib province in recent weeks, with major incidents such as a

Syrian airstrike that killed 34 Turkish troops, significantly ramping up

tensions in the region. 

- Russia is seeking to enhance its geopolitical clout in the MidEast, and

ensuring a strong Assad gov't in Syria is key to that.

- Turkey wants a buffer region along northern Syria free of Kurdish forces. 

- Ankara finds itself with few allies at present: 

- US is wary following Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 missiles in Jul-19. 

- The EU is focused on stemming the flow of migrants crossing from Turkey

following Ankara's decision to open its border with Greece on Saturday. Turkey

wants the EU to offer more assistance in dealing with the 3.7mn migrants within

its borders, but the EU says Turkey must abide by a 2016 deal that keeps the

border shut in exchange for funding and is using migrants as political pawns.