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
President Tayyip Erdoğan left Türkiye on July 10 to attend NATO Summit in Lithuania saying, “First pave the way for Türkiye in the European Union, and then we will pave the way for Sweden.” After a two-hour flight, he landed in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, where the summit will be held on July 11-12.
In an unexpected move, Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan linked Sweden’s application to the Western defense alliance NATO on July 10 with practically frozen relations of Türkiye with the European Union (EU). “First, let’s pave the way for Türkiye in the EU, and then we will pave the way for Sweden just as we did for
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on June 29, reacted harshly to the Quran burning demonstration in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden; further hinting that Türkiye will not lift its veto on Sweden’s NATO bid prior to critical Vilnius Summit to be held in July. “Those who perpetrated this crime, as well as those who allowed
The Wagner uprising did not topple Russian President Vladimir Putin, but it shook his seat, reduced his power, and, if not all, shook his charisma. Putin’s claim that he now has full domestic support in the face of NATO pressure over the Ukraine war will no longer be as convincing as before. Among those breathing
The only common feature of the diplomatic contacts of Türkiye in the last few days, especially after the new bureaucracy was formed with the critical elections, is the focus on the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK). With Hakan Fidan, to whom President Tayyip Erdoğan entrusted the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) for thirteen
Following a two-day contraversy over his health condition after falling ill during a live television broadcast, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appeared on a video conference for the inauguration ceremony of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant on April 27, resolving the rumours that he was gravely ill or even hospitalised. Russian President Vladimir Putin was
Russian Ambassador to Ankara Aleksei Erkhov held a press conference in Ankara on the evening of March 15. The meeting was not at the Russian Embassy, but at the Russian House, a Russian cultural center. The ostensible purpose of the meeting was to show a documentary film titled “Liberation,” which shows how the Donetsk and
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Ankara would approve Finland’s NATO membership as Finnish President Sauli Niinistö is expected to visit Türkiye. “We will keep our promise. After meeting with the President (Niinistö) upon his visit on Friday, we will keep our promise we made,” Erdoğan said on March 15, answering a question about Finland’s
The photograph above is taken on March 9, 2023 in Brussels. President Tayyip Erdoğan’s Chief Foreign and Security Policy Advisor and Spokesperson, İbrahim Kalın, with Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akçapar on his left, holing a press conference. The topic is whether Türkiye should give its approval to Sweden and Finland, two countries that want to join