Syria’s interim Foreign Minister Assad Hassan al-Shibani met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on January 15 in Ankara, marking the first such visit since the recent regime change in Syria. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was also present at the closed-door meeting held at the Presidential Compound in Beştepe district in Ankara. The high-level meeting
In light of recent developments, the CHP Central Headquarters is running out of options: as consecutive lawsuits mount against its mayors, the party is force to spent all its energy on defending them. The latest example was the detention of İstanbul’s Beşiktaş district Mayor Rıza Akpolat on corruption charges. CHP’s pledge to take to the
When President Tayyip Erdoğan began reciting the opening verses of Surah Al-Fath in Arabic during his Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group meeting on December 25, amid chants of “Conqueror of Syria,” I wrote in my notebook “We’re going into Syria.” However, launching an operation against the PKK/YPG in Syria is one thing; conquest
The foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Britain met in Warsaw on November 19th, hosted by Poland’s foreign minister. This followed an EU Foreign Ministers meeting the previous day. Although Britain is no longer an EU member, Europe’s most influential members chose to include Britain in making a joint statement against Russia. The
Turkish National Intelligence Organization’s (MİT) Legal Counsel Fuat Midas explains the concept of “Influence Espionage” through examples, without naming specific countries: “Consider a scenario where someone plans to assassinate a foreign national in a third country. They’re trafficking explosives and materials through our country from another country in the East. They intend to use our
President Tayyip Erdoğan delivered two significant speeches on November 10th, signaling Türkiye’s intention to launch a major political-military initiative in the “upcoming period.” The first speech was delivered on the 86th commemoration of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s death, the founder of the Turkish Republic. The second followed a Cabinet Meeting at Çankaya Mansion—the historic presidential residence
The rhetoric of a “new and civil constitution” and “liberation from the coup constitution,” frequently voiced by ministers appointed by President Erdoğan and AK Party officials since 12 September 2023, is not resonating with the public. The weakest point of Erdoğan’s discourse is the ambiguity regarding the reasons behind proposing a new and civil constitution.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan criticized Israel’s expanding military operations in the Middle East, claiming that “Türkiye could be the next target of Israeli aggression”. “Israel’s next target is Türkiye. It is also revealing this intention on various occasions,” Erdoğan stated on October 1. “I warn Israel. a ground operation in Lebanon will not be
When asked what would change for Türkiye if Donald Trump or Kamala Harris won the presidential elections in the US on November 5th, I can hear many of you saying “Nothing”. To understand, we need to look at which of today’s problems in Türkiye-US relations would be “normalized” – let’s not say solved – under
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz unveiled the Medium Term Program (MTP), outlining Ankara’s economic roadmap for the next three years. The MTP marks a crucial juncture for both the country’s economic recovery efforts and the political future of both President Tayyip Erdoğan and Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. While numerous questions arise, the