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
Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler announced that Türkiye has been providing Tehran with daily intelligence on the PKK and its Iranian affiliate PJAK, which—contrary to their promise to disarm and come to Ankara in anticipation of a regime change in Iran during the Israel–Iran war in June 2025—transferred armed forces from Iraq instead. Speaking
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
As Syria’s new regime completes its first year on Dec 8, Ankara has sent three warning messages—via the SDF to the PKK and to the SDF’s patron, the United States—indicating that “the wind may turn” if the current course continues: 1. Statements by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at the Doha Forum 2. Visits to Damascus
A workshop titled “Looking Together Toward a Shared Future” was held in Ankara on 1 December, bringing together around 60 representatives from political parties, business groups, civil society, research organizations, and the media. The event was jointly organized by the Diyarbakır-based Rawest and Kurdish Studies Center and the İzmir-based Bayetav. Discussions focused on the political,
Within the framework of the government’s “Terror-Free Türkiye” project, it was announced that the delegation of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission—established under Parliament—met with PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan on İmralı Island Prison on 24 November. In the statement released by the Office of the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM),
Türkiye’s ongoing peace process with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) holds the potential to end one of the country’s most destructive conflicts of the past four decades. Yet a lasting settlement cannot be achieved in isolation. Unless the Kurdish question in northern Syria is addressed, any peace at home will remain fragile. Instability in
It is understood that the meeting on June 29 between MİT President İbrahim Kalın and Hamas Shura Council President Muhammed Ismail Darwish, as announced by Turkish security sources, was conducted under four main topics: 1- The humanitarian tragedy in Gaza, 2- Turkish efforts with the international community to end Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and destruction, ensuring
After five years, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had the opportunity to meet face-to-face again with U.S. President Donald Trump, whom he calls his “friend,” at the NATO Summit held in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 24-25. However, unlike Erdoğan’s meetings with leaders from Germany, France, the UK, or the host Netherlands, which were held with
In geopolitics, power is no longer measured solely by having a seat at the table, but by one’s ability to disrupt it if excluded. Today, Türkiye is demonstrating precisely that: an increasingly agile power whose influence cannot be ignored, even when it is not formally included. Some nations are invited to shape the game. Others