As Syria’s new regime completes its first year on Dec 8, Ankara has sent three warning messages—via the SDF to the PKK and to the SDF’s patron, the United States—indicating that “the wind may turn” if the current course continues: 1. Statements by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at the Doha Forum 2. Visits to Damascus
Türkiye and Israel are weathering one of the most acrimonious periods in their modern diplomatic history. The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, Israel’s increasingly assertive posture in Syria, its strategic alignment with Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, and the heightened pressure from influential segments of the US Jewish lobby on Ankara have all contributed to
TBMM Commission’s 4 December Meeting Seen as Critical for 2026 Phase of “Terror-Free Türkiye” The 4 December meeting of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) Commission is viewed as a crucial milestone for the AK Party–MHP alliance’s “Terror-Free Türkiye” initiative as it enters the first half of 2026. In his opening remarks on 5
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned that the Russia–Ukraine conflict is spreading to a wider region, calling the trend “deeply alarming.” Speaking after the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting on Ukraine in Brussels on December 3, Fidan said the European Union’s expectations from Ankara are being “held hostage” by the Greek Cypriot Administration. Fidan also noted
A workshop titled “Looking Together Toward a Shared Future” was held in Ankara on 1 December, bringing together around 60 representatives from political parties, business groups, civil society, research organizations, and the media. The event was jointly organized by the Diyarbakır-based Rawest and Kurdish Studies Center and the İzmir-based Bayetav. Discussions focused on the political,
Within the framework of the government’s “Terror-Free Türkiye” project, it was announced that the delegation of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission—established under Parliament—met with PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan on İmralı Island Prison on 24 November. In the statement released by the Office of the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM),
Pope Leo XIV, who will visit Türkiye between 27–30 November, carries two roles: one as the Head of the Vatican State, and the other as the Spiritual Leader of Catholic Christians. Ankara attaches importance to the fact that Pope Leo XIV is making his first official foreign trip to Türkiye and is pleased about it.
The indictment titled “Ekrem İmamoğlu Profit-Driven Criminal Organization” prepared by Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek—released on 11 November—is poised to enter the history of political trials worldwide. Although part of the corruption allegations rely on witness statements filled with phrases like “it happened, I heard,” often supported only by secondary data such as mobile
Everyone is aware that the main obstacle to rapprochement between Türkiye and the European Union is political. For years it was Osman Kavala, Selahattin Demirtaş, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings—now the Ekrem İmamoğlu case has been added on top of all that, increasing the barriers to meeting the Copenhagen Political Criteria, which
Former Democratic People’s Party (HDP) co-leader Demirtaş was detained and arrested on November 4, 2016. November 3, marked nine years since his imprisonment began. On the same day, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rejected Turkey’s appeal—lodged on October 8—to have his case reviewed by the Grand Chamber. That decision makes the Court’s earlier