Ankara does not confirm the claims that Turkey will deport 20 militants wanted by Egypt in return for Egypt’s curbing of Gülenist activities in Cairo, within the framework of a détente between the two countries. The claim was made on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) based “The National” website, bylined from Cairo. Allegedly. It was
Only ten days after getting appointed as the head of Turkish State Railways (TCDD), Abdülkerim Murat Atik got fired on September 14. That was the last example of Erdoğan’s one-after-other appointments in top positions of bureaucracy, mostly based on close-circle references but cause havoc within the system. Former director of the TCDD Ali İhsan Uygun
One of the most interesting – in fact, more correct to say weird – developments of the last week were the words of Şahap Kavcıoğlu, The Governor of the Turkish Central Bank (CBRT), who implied that from now they would focus on core inflation which excludes food and energy prices and alike. That would mean
Anti-vaccine protesters held a rally in the Maltepe district of Istanbul on September 11 with the participation of thousands of people. Those attending the “Great Awakening” demonstration do not want to be called anti-vaccine. For the record: Maltepe District Governor Bahri Tiryaki did not allow the rally to protest the anti-covid policy of the government
The Al Qaida attacks of September 11, 2001, took place two weeks after I left my responsibilities at the Turkish Embassy in Washington, DC. I was appointed to the America desk of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara. It was just past lunchtime and our assistant deputy undersecretary Vefahan Ocak was not in
The media is overflowing with news about Afghanistan. After a twenty-year occupation, the irregular withdrawal of the United States and the re-take of power by a group that it tried to destroy is, of course, a situation that will occupy the international agenda for a long time. Especially in the last two decades, despite everything,
The new scenario spoken in the political backdrop in Ankara is based on the separate participation of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its election ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in the upcoming parliamentary elections. According to that scenario, the MHP will not nominate its candidate in the presidential election and will continue
The row debate between the USA and China over the origin of the Covid-19 virus that shook the world is turning into a worldwide diplomatic war. China has launched a campaign through its diplomatic missions against US-origin accusations that the virus may have leaked from a lab in Wuhan. This was launched in Turkey, too.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said on September 1 that his Justice and Development Party (AKP) government was planning to make public a new Constitution draft to the “nation’s discretion” in the first months of 2022. He wants to get the draft ready together with his election partner, Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement