Turkish and Russian military delegations reached an agreement to cooperate in finding a solution to the electricity-related water problem in northeast Syria during their visit to the Allouk Water Station and the Mabrouka Power Plant this week.

The non-regional actors — Russia and China — have been the most important supporters of the Bashar Assad regime since the onset of the Syrian crisis in 2011, with their veto power in the UN Security Council (UNSC) proving particularly useful.

For years, domestic balances, threat perceptions and foreign policymaking institutions have had an important effect on Turkey’s foreign policy pattern. However, the country’s foreign policymaking mechanisms have gone through serious structural changes in the past two decades.