Despite the rhetoric about a global war against Islamist terrorism, the US has long utilised reactionary Islamist groups in the Middle East and Asia. Al-Qaeda was created by the CIA and Pakistani intelligence,

Turkey as the terminus for a new pipeline bringing gas up from the world’s largest gas field in the Gulf off the peninsula of Qatar. Turkey as the premier gas hub serving Europe. Turkey as a crucial node in the emerging Eastern Mediterranean electricity network.

Qatari diplomats spoke with Syria's leading rebel faction, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, on Monday, an official briefed on the developments told Reuters, as regional states race to open contact with the group after its rapid offensive toppled Bashar al-Assad.

Qatar will send its first official delegation to Damascus on Sunday to meet Syria's interim government and discuss reopening the Qatari embassy and enhancing humanitarian aid deliveries, a Qatari official told Reuters on Friday.

The Middle East's regional powers had been pursuing reconciliation. Syria's post-Assad transition will put that to the test. The post Post-Assad Syria Will Test Turkey's Thaw With the Gulf States appeared first on World Politics Review.

Qatar reopened its embassy in Syria on Sunday after a 13-year closure following the downfall of the Bashar al-Assad regime. In a statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said Khalifa Abdullah al-Mahmoud al-Sharif was named as the country’s charge d'affaires.

Qatar said Wednesday that it will reopen its embassy in Syria “soon” following the downfall of the Bashar al-Assad regime. “Doha will reopen its embassy in Damascus soon after completing the necessary arrangements," Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari told the state news agency QNA.

Ankara's growing military presence in Syria has led to a diplomatic clash between former allies Israel and Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has supported Hamas, even hinting at some sort of armed intervention.

Amid the transition in Syria, Qatar reopened its embassy in Damascus on Saturday after a 13-year hiatus. The embassy was closed early in Syria’s war. Qatar is the second country, after Turkey, to officially reopen diplomatic missions in Syria.

The president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, could benefit significantly from the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. Not only does it boost his influence in the region, but it also enables him to pursue ambitious plans to build a major gas hub.

During a Tuesday briefing with reporters, Al-Ansari declined to comment directly on President-elect Donald Trump’s stated aversion to U.S. involvement in Syria. He said, however, that Qatar is in touch with the Biden administration and the Trump transition team about the best approach to take to the war-torn country.