The announcement of the US withdrawal from Syria and its impact on the Euro-Atlantic relations

[Autom. eng. transl.] The announcement of the withdrawal of US forces deployed in Syria, although scaled down by the US authorities themselves in the days immediately following, triggered a chain reaction whose consequences are not yet fully understood. The Turkish military intervention in the border areas already controlled by the SDF and the subsequent Russian diplomatic intervention that led to the signing of the Sochi agreements led to a state of affairs that marginalized the US role and highlighted the weakness of the western position. The administration's decision has been strongly criticized in Washington, also by figures normally close to the President, for the repercussions that it risks also having in theaters other than the Syrian one. This partly contributes to explaining the subsequent apparent change of course. The terms of this change of course appear, however, still unclear, just as the position of the Atlantic Alliance appears unclear. Within NATO, Ankara's policy raises several concerns, related not only to the recent Syrian initiative. On the other hand, even during the last summits, the members of the Alliance seem to have struggled to find a common line and not even the decision taken at the summit of defense ministers on 24 October last to extend the assistance granted to Turkey for the defense of its airspace appears to indicate a real consensus. The tensions that exist between Turkey and the EU also for the role that Ankara plays in controlling migratory flows to Europe represent another critical element and contribute in an important way to perpetuate the situation of substantial stalemate that has characterized the past weeks.