Alwaght- The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Moscow on 9-10 March for talks with the Russian officials, including his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The Turkish leader will make the visit at a time when the world, particularly the West Asia region, has recently undergone a set of new and complicated developments.

Donald Trump election as US president has resulted in shifts in strategic policies of the regional countries, paving the way for a string of new alliances to come to existence in the region. Turkey was not an exemption, as Ankara wavered in continuing its newly-taken approach of getting closer to Moscow-Tehran camp.

Considering uncertainty of the regional atmosphere as well as Trump’s policies in dealing with the West Asian issues, Mr. Erdogan obtained the conviction that he needed to direct Turkey’s strategies to a course that will win the content of the new White House chief. To this end, the Turkish officials took some anti-Iranian stances to secure Washington's backing, as at the same time they in the media expressed Ankara's willingness in putting an end to the Syrian crisis through joint work with the Americans.

With these points in mind, Erdogan’s visit to Russia is expected to even add to the complexity of the regional equations. But what will be the main focus of the Erdogan-Putin negotiations? Moreover, how will Erdogan’s trip influence the upcoming regional developments and equations?

Three essential issues should be taken into account to help answer these questions.

1. Increased Turkish role in Syrian conflict and confrontation with Kurds

For Sure, the top discussion topic between Erdogan and his Russian counterpart will be the Syrian crisis and the upcoming developments of the conflict in this crisis-hit country. Upon its intrusion into the northern Syrian town of Jarabulus on August 24, 2016, the Turkish military claimed that its deployment came to offer support for the Free Syria Army (FSA), an opposition rebel force, as part of the Operation Euphrates Shield against ISIS. But it pursued different goals behind the scenes. Establishing a safe zone in northern Syria, pushing the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) out of the western Euphrates River, and securing a role in Raqqa recapture operation have been the top objectives Ankara followed in new Syria equations through its military dispatch.

Turkey’s territorial greed seemed limitless as after taking control of northern town of Al-Bab ISIS terrorists on 25 February, Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim made it clear that they sought further control over new cities including the Kurdish-controlled Manbij and Raqqa, ISIS stronghold in Syria. Due to significance of the Syrian developments, it is very likely that Syria and the Kurds will occupy a major part of Erdogan-Putin talks during the March Moscow visit.

Meanwhile, the brewing expectation is a confrontation between the advancing Turkish army and the Syrian Democratic Forces as on the one hand the Turks push for Manbij control and on the other hand the PYD forces, as part of Syrian Democratic Forces and a branch of PKK– Ankara’s archenemy– in Syria, resist to pressures that want them retreat from western Euphrates. This mutual push makes it very likely to see them clash.

On the other side, in a very unexpected move last week, the Kurdish forces handed back Manbij's western regions to Syrian government forces, which were backed by Russian air cover. Such a move even added to the complexity of the already-twisted Syria's field conditions, making the Turkish army decide to counter the Syrian and Russian forces if it chooses to advance towards Manbij. This issue, too, is expected to be topic of the two leaders' talk as the Turkish leaders seek a share in Raqqa liberation battle at any expense.

2. Establishing safe zone in Syria

Setting up a safe zone in Syria’s north is possibly another point of Erdogan’s discussion with the Russians. Since eruption of the crisis in 2011, the Turkish leader persistently called for establishment of a safe zone in northern Syria that will cover regions between Azaz and Jarabulus towns.

The London-based Al-Arab newspaper quoted a Russian official as saying that the Russian president will ask his Turkish counterpart to explain about his long-desired safe zone on the Turkish-Syrian borders during the expected Erdogan’s visit in March. The Arab language daily added that the Russian leader believes that the Turkish-eyed safe zone was quite different from that proposed by the US President Donald Trump who by safe zone meant return of the refugees to the Syrian territories under a United Nations' supervision process. In fact, Putin wants to warn Erdogan that the safe zone desired by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and other Persian Gulf Arab states will not be materialized in Syria.

3. Relations with the US

Still a third point of dialogue between Erdogan and Putin will likely be concentrating on the regional equations in the Trump era. Now that Trump is the US leader, it appears that Ankara eyes abandoning the Russia-Iran camp to exit Astana peace talks on Syria. The analysts suggest that the US strains on Turkey will press the latter to withdraw support for Astana peace process and reiterate calls for President Basher al-Assad of Syria to step down. This Turkish anti-Assad stance was repeated after Mike Pompeo, the CIA’s director, met with Erdogan during his Ankara visit early in February. Actually, the Turkish president wants to secure a safe side for Ankara in the upcoming equations as Trump and Putin build closer ties. Turkey’s president is well aware that without Moscow’s approval, any US-Turkey closeness for joint work on Syria will go nowhere. This convinces him to intensely consider Moscow’s role in the equation.