U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Turkey on Thursday for talks focused on a critical aspect of establishing stability in Syria: clashes in the north of the country between U.S.-backed Kurdish forces and Turkey-backed rebels.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Jordan on Dec. 12 and called for coordination in Syria's transition away from President Bashar al-Assad.

The power vacuum in Syria after the downfall of the Assad regime is set to change a delicate balance of interests between Turkey and Iran.The sudden collapse of Bashar Assad's regime in Syria changed the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East overnight.

Explore Turkey’s shifting Syria strategy after Assad’s fall—balancing proxies, Kurdish dynamics, and regional influence in a rapidly changing landscape.

Erdogan, who has known both leaders for years, has invested heavily in Somalia since 2011. Turkey has established a military base in the country, trained thousands of Somali soldiers, managed Mogadishu’s airport and port, and provided extensive humanitarian and military aid.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was heading to Ankara, Turkey, to attend the third round of talks aimed at defusing tensions with Ethiopia, the state news agency reported on Tuesday, in a row that threatens to destabilise the region.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announces talks between the two countries to end dispute over breakaway Somaliland region