The US administration’s top Syria envoy, James Jeffrey, who is trying to broker a deal between Turkey and Syrian Kurdish groups for a proposed safe zone in northeast Syria, recognizes the irreconcilable positions of the two parties, and is trying to buy some time through continuing the talks, a source in Washington close to the envoy told Al-Monitor.

Turkey’s fateful Istanbul election rerun is fast approaching. For Turkey, it is more than just an election in Istanbul, as the vote could determine whether the Recep Tayyip Erdogan era in Turkish political history expires or not.

President Erdogan has transformed the June 23 election do-over into a showdown over his authoritarian rule involving Turkey’s highly polarized society; these divisions were deliberately crafted by Erdogan himself to consolidate his base.

Another inevitable development is approaching as well: An economic collision for Turkey’s debt-ridden economy. The developments in the foreign policy sphere will bear a strong influence both on the Istanbul election and the Turkish economy as Ankara is under intense pressure — if not crossfire — from Washington and Moscow.