What will Turkey's role be in shaping the region?

Developments show that it is the powers that defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) who will determine the future of Syria and Iraq. All of the accusations leveled at Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are correct, of course, but the real enemy for the world today is not him but ISIL. 

That is why the international war against this group has intensified. The U.S.-supported Iraqi army is said to be close to clearing the strategic town of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, of ISIL. The Iraqi army is also poised now to take back Mosul, which fell to ISIL in 2014.

In Syria, the U.S.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in which the Syrian Kurds play a major role, are also advancing against ISIL. The SDF recently captured the strategic Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates, as well as seven nearby villages. Their target now is Raqqa which is considered to be "the capital of ISIL." 

There are also reports that the SDF has already moved west of the Euphrates and is working to clear that area, too. It is obvious that the U.S. and Russia are cooperating against ISIL, even if they are doing this indirectly. 

This has not ended their struggle for regional influence, of course. Russia's bombing of mostly Sunni anti-al-Assad fighters in northern Syria - including the Turkmens that Ankara is sensitive about - rather than ISIL targets, has to be seen in this light as well. The two superpowers are nevertheless moving cautiously in order not to step on each other's toes. Meanwhile, they are maintaining their open and secret diplomatic dialogue on Syria and Iraq. Put another way, it is clear which powers will lead the efforts to reshape the region after ISIL has been defeated.

Where Turkey - which acts with Saudi Arabia and...