Worries over Turkey’s footprint in Syria

The government is closely following developments in Syria, concerned about the prevailing uncertainty and Turkey's seeming expansion of its regional influence.

In the prime minister's office and the Foreign Ministry, officials concede that the retreat, partial or total, of the United States, Russia and Iran provides an opportunity to Turkey to significantly expand its influence in Syria. They also compare the region to quicksand that can gobble up any country's ambitions to dominate.

Greece's worries are of two kinds: how Turkish involvement in Syria will affect bilateral relations, and whether the recent developments could lead to a return of the several million Syrian refugees - most of them in Turkey but with many also in the European Union - or trigger a new migration wave.

The rebels who ousted Bashar al-Assad are a coalition of disparate groups and clans...