I joined Turkey’s TRT World on Thursday to discuss the UAE’s reopening of its embassy in Syria’s capital Damascus.

The discussion considers the UAE’s motives, including economic gain from some of the $400 billion needed for reconstruction of regime-held areas, limiting Iran’s influence with the Assad regime, and offsetting Turkey’s expansion of influence across northern Syria.

It continues with recognition of a partitioned — some would say broken — country and the next cycle in the conflict, likely to involve a fight for Kurdish-held territory in the northeast of the country.