“Today, Syria’s aspiration to be regarded as the top regional Arab power is enhanced by its increasingly close relations with Ankara.” It is an open question as to how far Turkey can bring Syria to a position other nations like better, but it is having practical effects. "People are watching ... The recent visit of the Saudi Arabian monarch, King Abdullah, to Damascus is likely to have been provoked in part by Syria’s deepening links to Turkey and the Saudis not wanting to be left out." The friendship is not an overnight development: ties have been deepening between the two countries for several years, but the tipping point for public awareness came with Turkey’s open support for Arab causes. Full Article at The National Newspaper