When German Chancellor Olaf Scholz telephoned President Tayyip Erdoğan on May 29 to congratulate him on his re-election and at the same time invited him, what he had in mind was not to further deteriorate, and perhaps even improve, relations with the leader of Türkiye, whom he sees as a “difficult partner” who will lead
The European Commission adopted its 2023 Enlargement Package on November 8 and is testament to the direct or indirect influence of Russia. In a couple of decades, we may look back on the map of Europe and see how Russia has influenced the alignment of countries. We may have not noticed it, but Russia is
The centenary of the Republic bears great significance. While speaking about the interaction between democracy and foreign policy, one prominent aspect to keep always in mind is the country’s international positioning. In this respect, the vision to be put forward on our path towards the European Union (EU) which has been considered as a strategic
In an interview with Hürriyet Newspaper the other day, German Federal Minister of the Interior and Homeland Nancy Faeser stated that the migration pact between Turkey and the European Union should be renewed. Faeser said that the EU could provide more financial support to Turkey and that they expect Turkey to “uphold its responsibilities”. The
President Tayyip Erdoğan’s speech opening the new legislative year on October 1 was overshadowed by the terrorist attack on the Interior Ministry a few hours earlier, a few hundred meters away from the Parliament building. Erdoğan had to add the sentence “This morning’s action is the last efforts of terrorism” to the sentence “We have
When President Tayyip Erdoğan mentioned the possibility of Türkiye parting ways with the European Union on his way to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, no one from the EU has so far said “Don’t go, stay; we’ll give you what you want”. Perhaps there is an expectation among the Turkish President and
President Tayyip Erdoğan said that Türkiye “can part ways with the EU if necessary”. Erdoğan’s statement came when asked about the latest Türkiye report of the European Parliament during a press conference before his departure from İstanbul to New York on September 16 to attend the United Nations General Assembly. He said: • “The European
When I sat down at my computer in the morning, my intention was to write about the crush of the plane reportedly carrying Yevgeni Prigojin, the head of the Russian mercenary army Wagner, on the Moscow-St. Petersburg route on the evening of 23 August, exactly two months after he revolted against Russian Army. However, the
In his speech at the 14th Ambassadors Conference on August 7, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced Ankara’s vision for the 100th anniversary of the Republic as “making Türkiye one of the playmaker actors”. I wish he had emphasized more the importance of the Republic of Türkiye entering its second century against all obstacles, but a
Since the July 11 – 12, 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, Turkey – European Union relations have started to be discussed again. However, it is important to see if there is any substance to this debate. Relations have gone backwards, especially since the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, the seventh anniversary of which we just
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