The US final exit from Afghanistan and the trouble it created among allies, mainly because of the conditions under which it happened, continue to impact the strategic agenda of stakeholders in Syria and in the region. Another sign of the US ‘pivot’ came with the announcement of the partnership with the UK and Australia (AUKUS) to sell nuclear powered submarines to the latter. The recent meeting of the ‘QUAD’ (US, India, Japan, Australia) at the White House was the latest confirmation of the focus of the Biden administration on the Indo-Pacific and the rivalry with China. An ironic state of affairs as the EU is preparing its own Indo-Pacific strategy. Transatlantic tensions are far from decreasing as a result. SOS Blinken visited Paris early October and US President Biden talked to his French counterpart in a clear effort to release tensions between Paris and Washington. No visible results so far.
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