Turkey’s failed Syria policy has forged a double-edged problem for Ankara — with the United States on one edge and Russia on the other — that it is finding hard to overcome. At the heart of the matter lies the military assistance the United States is providing to the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the umbrella organization of the Syrian Kurds, to fight the Islamic State (IS).

Deepening Ankara's exasperation are reports that the PYD is successfully cozying up to Moscow and getting munitions from there. These developments come as the Turkish military is involved in an all-out war against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey and northern Iraq.

Turkey designates the PYD and its armed wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), as terrorist organizations because of their links to the PKK. Turkey wants its allies to do the same, but to date has failed to convince them. The YPG is currently considered an important military asset on the ground for the US-led coalition against IS.

Despite Turkey's pressure, the importance of the PYD and YPG has increased since the United States scrapped its failed program to train and equip moderate Syrian forces against IS.