Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and key ally in Türkiye’s ruling coalition, has called on imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan to “unilaterally declare the dissolution of his organization.” “Let the terrorist leader, who claimed he was ‘ready for any kind of service’ when brought to Türkiye, now step forward and unilaterally
On the same day that the Chief Legal Advisor to the Turkish Presidency, Mehmet Uçum, said “the state does not repeat a process that fails to yield results,” journalist Amberin Zaman, known for her deep Kurdish and American sources, made an intriguing claim on the Al-Monitor news site. According to her report, which she claims
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
Türkiye and Iraq signed a “Memorandum of Understanding on Combating Terrorism” on August 15. On the 40th anniversary of PKK militants launching an armed struggle against Türkiye with raids on Eruh and Şemdinli from Iraqi territory, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein signed this symbolically significant agreement. However, this agreement, which
The Ankara 22nd High Criminal Court handed down heavy sentences in the Kobani Trial on May 16. The most notable were the 42-year sentence for Selahattin Demirtaş and the 30-year sentence for Figen Yüksekdağ, both of whom were co-chairs of the HDP at the time. Their sentences were the natural headline in media. Like the
We were chatting with an American diplomat, who held high positions in the US State Department while on duty, during the coffee break of an important meeting in Marrakesh. Stating that in the critical period we are in, the USA has been acting as if it has discarded Türkiye. In contrast, new dynamics have emerged
Last weekend, Murat Karayılan, one of the leaders of the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), announced that he would deliver “good news” soon, which drew attention to what he would reveal. On one hand, Newroz was approaching, and Kurdish-issue focused People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) had organized rallies spreading throughout the week, while on
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
Turkish Foreign Minsiter Hakan Fidan had a meeting with his US counterpart Antony Blinken in Washington on March 8. “There is an opportunity to continue our path by opening a new page with a positive agenda,” he said in a press conference following the meeting and other discussions and contacts. Türkiye-US relations were a “historic”