Statements from opposition İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener and Kurdish issue-focused Democratic People’s Party’s (HDP) imprisoned former co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş on September 13 strengthened the possibility that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s competitor in the critical 2023 presidential elections will be main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. “The decision will be made
On September 12, two essential data for July were announced: Labor force and balance of payments. In summary, the situation is like this: The unemployment rate is still at a high level, in particular, the broadly defined unemployment rate is referred to as the ‘underutilized labor rate.’ On the other hand, the current account deficit
A favourite phrase by Turkish government officials these days is that they are “implementing a foreign policy with a 360 degree outlook which is cemented on friendship”. I’m assuming the message is that they are weighing every possible policy angle before making a decision but the ultimate aim is friendship. Actual policy and reality on
When the construction of Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, which the Russians were building in Turkey, came to a standstill, the issue came to the table during the meeting of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with Russian President Vladimir Putin at their August-5 Sochi meeting, but it could not be resolved. Erdoğan met with the officials of
Just as we breathed a sigh of relief that the activities of Turkey’s new drilling ship Abdulhamid Han has not caused a further crisis or muddied the waters of the Mediterranean, this time it was Greece that stirred up the waters in Turkish-Greek relations. Throughout last week, the Turkish Armed Forces reported three incidents where
Turkey’s Finance and Treasury Minister Nureddin Nebati told industrialist and business circles on Aug. 26 that “there is no point concerning” about US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury’s warning which stated that pursuing business with sanctioned Russians will also cause secondary sanctions. “There is no point the letter that is conveyed to the Turkish business
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated Ankara’s determination to follow a cross-border military operation into Syria, following statements from Russian, Iranian and American officials against it. “I declare to the whole world that our struggle will not end until we secure our southern borders with a 30 km deep corridor from one end to the
Greek jets harassed Turkish F-16 aircraft, which were on NATO mission in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Aug. 23. Turkey reported the incident to the NATO authorities and the military attaché of Greece was summoned to the Ministry of National Defence. According to the report, Turkish F-16 planes were harassed by
Turkey’s populist-driven foreign policies are coming back to bite us and Erdoğan’s government is unable to formulate solutions for the impasse they themselves created. This reality is especially urgent in Syria. Elections are coming up and one of the bigger determinants for voters is the economic and sociological costs of hosting 3.5 million Syrian refugees.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) Monetary Policy Committee (PPK) convened on August 18 and lowered the policy rate by 100 basis points from 14 percent to 13 percent. This interest rate cut was a big surprise even for us who are skeptical of various ongoing incredible things in our beautiful country.