When a country’s diplomatic style is confrontational, what do you get? Confrontations. It has become Turkey’s signature style. But winning confrontations, or giving the appearance of doing so, can be a challenge. And Ankara may have been wrong-footed in a swiftly worsening crisis, prompted by a new stage in the …

Both Iraqi security forces and Kurdish Peshmerga forces have been involved in clashes with the so-called Islamic State in Iraq’s northeast Diyala province. The area lies within the territory disputed between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraq’s federal government, and it has seen a resurgence in terrorist activity.

In addition, Turkey is in talks with Russia to purchase a second batch of the S-400 system, including coproduction and technology transfer options. If the S-400 system is operated in Turkey, Moscow could find a built-in cyber backdoor to spy on NATO assets.