Russian forces entered Ukrainian territory four years ago today, on 24 February 2022. NATO had anticipated the attack. Just as the world was beginning to recover from the trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was perhaps stepping into what could become a simmering, low-intensity world war. On 27 February 2022, Türkiye formally designated the situation
Geopolitical analysis of the US–Iran crisis typically rests on cold calculations of power: air defence systems, missile ranges, sanctions packages, aircraft carriers. Yet occasionally it is more instructive to step deliberately one degree away from realism and ask: what if? Alternative scenarios can illuminate exits from deadlocked equations. Recall that when China brokered diplomatic normalisation
Publicly referred to as the “Terror-Free Türkiye Commission,” the TBMM Commission on National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy completed its work on February 18 — the 198th day since its establishment on August 5, 2025 — by compiling its findings into a report. The report was adopted in a session lasting more than three hours with
Until Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Munich Security Conference was regarded as one of the world’s most influential platforms for strategic dialogue — a political barometer for the year ahead. Not only Western countries, but also officials from China, Russia and Iran were invited. Discussions often proved more substantive than those
Under a presidential decree issued at midnight on February 10, President Erdoğan appointed Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek to replace Yılmaz Tunç as Minister of Justice, and Erzurum Governor Mustafa Çiftçi to replace Ali Yerlikaya as Minister of Interior. The decree stated that Tunç and Yerlikaya had requested to be “relieved of their duties”,
Kos’s visit was interpreted both as a response to the government’s statements and initiatives aimed at rapprochement with the EU, and to the call made by the Turkish business community—through an advertisement published in the Financial Times in recent days—that in the new global imbalance, the EU needs Türkiye more than ever. Updating the Customs
Should the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye extend the “right to hope” to PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, this practice would also cover Selahattin Demirtaş, Osman Kavala, and all prisoners in similar situations. On the evening of 5 February, after confirming this information in Ankara’s political circles, I was granted permission to report it on the
US and Iranian delegations are expected to meet in Istanbul on Friday, February 6, at Türkiye’s initiative. If it goes ahead, the talks between US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will be hosted by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. This would mark the first
On January 31, the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) published a full-page advertisement in the Financial Times. The ad was titled “An Open Letter from the Turkish Business Community to EU Leaders.” It was addressed to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, European Council President Antonio Costa, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Beneath
The longer version of the headline is straightforward: Why are letters addressed to Brussels no longer effective—and why does the European Union need a new story with Türkiye? When I first came across the open letter prepared by the Turkish business community through DEİK and published on 31 January as a paid announcement in the