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First it looked like the Summit would only include Russia and Iran. Then they decided it should include Erdogan the Islamist Dictator of Turkey.

Now it is clear why Erdogan was invited. I'm sure by now he realizes what dealing with his "friend" Putin is like.

This is a well written article and appears very accurate. Al-Monitor has a good reputation and this author is very experienced. Have read his material before.

Photo at the link. It is worth the read.

And Turkey is energetically against a military operation in Idlib. So are the United States, the European Union and the United Nations.

I don't think the US is opposed. Trump only asked Putin to do it carefully. Trump has said from the beginning his only interest is killing ISIS, and making sure Assad doesn't use chemicals. He can use all the lead he wants.

On Sep. 8, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that there had been a meeting between leaders of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Hizb ut-Tahrir (Turkistan Islamic Party) and the White Helmets. According to the ministry, “Scenarios for staging and filming of incidents with the alleged use of chemical agents by the Syrian government forces against civilians” were discussed.

“A special team of some “foreign friends of the Syrian revolution” will give a signal for the start of the provocation in Idlib province,” the ministry warned on Twitter.

And today’s news is that Assad has approved using chemical weapons again. Sounds fishy to me.

By Middle East standards it seems pretty straight forward. Russia's ultimate interests are maintaining the Alawi (Shiite) Assad regime and family in power, thereby protecting the Christian minorities in Syria and keeping her hand in the game by supporting a (mostly) rules-of-game following enemy of America's main ally, Israel. Treating with Turkey, not only a still official member of NATO but a traditional enemy of Russia for centuries. On top of that they're being run by an apparently unstable Sunni fanatic with dreams of becoming the next Caliph.

Temporary alliances of convenience among blood enemies may seem illogical to an ordered Western mind, and even more so to us black hats bad, white hats good Yankees, but it's commonplace in that region.

ISIS, ISIL, DAESH, Al Qaeda, whatever name of the month is applied to the forces opposing Asaad, are entirely Sunni operations with the occasional collaborations of convenience, for America's and Israel's detriment, with Shia Iran. Their real back door support remains our "friends", the Saudi's, whose own claims of preeminence are based on Sunni control and protection of the Islamic "Holy Sites".

Like I said, by Middle East standards things are pretty straight forward. But that doesn't mean they're not complex and fluid. It's never easy to sort out, but watching complete imbeciles like Obama, Hillary Clinton, Kerry, and the late Senator Songbird of Arizona get involved before some sanity was restored in 2017 was scary.