Turkish Foreign Relations Analysis and Forecast: Insightful reporting of Turkish diplomacy with its ups and downs in relations with the U.S., Russia the Europe and the Islamic World.
Ankara did not take seriously—did not even consider a threat—the attempt by Israel, Greece, and Southern Cyprus to form an alliance against Türkiye. On December 24, President Tayyip Erdoğan described the statements made by the three leaders in Jerusalem on December 22 as “tin clatter” and a “provocation” that Türkiye would not fall for. The
On December 22, the very day Ankara virtually launched an SDF-focused diplomatic offensive toward Damascus, Israel formed an anti-Türkiye alliance together with the governments of Greece and Southern Cyprus. As Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Director İbrahim Kalın were meeting in Damascus with President Ahmed
Tension over Syria is rising in Ankara on two interconnected levels. One is the military pressure Israel is exerting on the Ahmed al-Shara administration and on Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The other is the SDF’s reluctance to take responsibility for the disarmament process—acting as if it has no connection whatsoever with the PKK—while keeping
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
About ten years ago, caricatures of “Sultan Erdoğan” were popular in the Western European press. President Tayyip Erdoğan, who was trying to pull the Turkish Republic into the orbit of Russia and Iran with a neo-Ottoman and political Islamist policy, was seen as the antithesis of the West. The antipathy was so strong that, during
The 20-year Turkish-US deal signed in Washington on September 25 during Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan’s meeting with US President Donald Trump marks a new chapter in energy and geopolitics balance. The agreement between BOTAŞ and US producers is more than a long-term supply contract; it is a clear signal of Türkiye’s determination to reduce dependence
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio poured fuel on the fire with his remarks at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Israel following the Qatar operation. According to Rubio, efforts to recognize the State of Palestine were “emboldening Hamas”. Rubio who was already emboldening Netanyahu’s expansionist aggression with this visit
Top-level Turkish security delegation’s visit to Baghdad on March 14 should be considered as a significant step towards a comprehensive Türkiye Iraq agreement ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s expected visit to Iraq in April after 12 years. The rapprochement and establishment of strategic political and economic relations between Türkiye and Iraq appear to
US President Joe Biden and Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdoğan talked for 45 minutes on the phone on March 10. A few hours before, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu had brought together the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov and Dimitro Kuleba, in Turkey’s resort city Antalya in Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF). Biden’s schedule to
Ukraine crisis challenged Turkey-Russia relations in another dimension where the political and defense aspects, as in the case of the S-400 missiles, follow the economic aspect, which is more likely to have more profound effect on Turkish public. In this rough patch, natural gas, tourism, agriculture and contracting services came to a fore in terms
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