> Iran, whose President Ebrahim Raisi is hosting the meeting, has already warned that any Turkish military action in Syria could “destabilise the region”. The Tehran summit will also enable Erdogan to hold his first meeting with Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
“The timing of this summit is not a coincidence,” Russian analyst Vladimir Sotnikov told the AFP news agency. “Turkey wants to conduct a ‘special operation’ in Syria just as Russia is implementing a ‘special operation’ in Ukraine.”