Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan embarked on a Gulf tour this week that included three stops: Kuwait, Qatar and Oman. While Qatar is not an unusual destination given the close relations between Ankara and Doha, the visits to Kuwait and Oman had particular significance.

The leaders of the Organization of Turkic States — Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan — on Tuesday held a summit in Azerbaijan, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on his counterparts to deepen their engagement with the new administration in Damascus.

Whether described as hedging, balancing or bargaining, Turkiye’s policies toward the Western and non-Western worlds are shaped by different parameters, shifts and continuities. It is, without doubt, an approach that is difficult to decipher, both for observers and Turkiye’s counterparts.