![Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syria President Bashar al-Assad arrive for their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow [AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/06909d9098744a40999057b25ce40b59_18.jpeg?resize=730%2C410&quality=80)
Is Russia the new power broker in Middle East?
Moscow and Ankara reach deal on northern Syria as Washington-brokered ceasefire expires.
Russia and Turkey are on opposite sides of the war in Syria.
Moscow backs the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Ankara supports opposition rebels who want to remove him.
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However, the two sides have been working more closely in recent months.
On Tuesday, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave Kurdish fighters six days to retreat from the Syrian-Turkish border.
They reached the agreement just before the end of a United States-brokered ceasefire that halted Turkey’s military offensive in the region.
As Washington pulls back from the region, is Russia becoming the new power broker? And what are the implications for the wider Middle East?
Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra
Guests:
Yusuf Alabarda – Retired colonel of the Turkish armed forces
Pavel Felgenhauer – Russian defence and military analyst
Samuel Ramani – Researcher at Oxford University and a member of the Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow-based think-tank and discussion forum
Published On 23 Oct 2019