It is reported that Türkiye will take an active role in restructuring the Syrian military. According to the statement made by Ministry of National Defense sources, the proposal came from Syria and the first contact was established a week ago. Ministry’s statement came after Syrian interim President Ahmed Shara’s Ankara visit on February 4. Sources informed
The three-hour meeting between interim Syrian President Ahmed Shara and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex in Ankara marked a historic moment in regional politics. Shara, arriving in a Turkish presidential aircraft from Damascus, was welcomed with full state honors, and the leaders discussed a wide range of issues from security cooperation
The Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan claimed yesterday that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, under the helm of Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, is rushing to demolish the Grand Kartal Hotel where 78 people perished in the fire. This statement deeply pained me. The first person who came to my mind was journalist Uğur Mumcu, assassinated 32
On the evening of January 16, the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) Foreign Relations office made a brief but significant post on their X account. The English message was succinct: “United we stand, divided we fall. President Masoud Barzani met with SDF Commander Mazlum Abdi in Erbil.” The announcement came immediately after the meeting. The post
Ukraine’s recent attempt to attack the TurkStream pipeline represents an alarming and perilous escalation. The fact that this initiative failed should not bring us comfort; after all, a similar attempt occurred in May 2023, and there is no assurance that future attacks will be thwarted. Should another assault take place, we would find ourselves unable
The mayor of Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district, Rıza Akpolat from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has been arrested and suspended from his duties, marking a significant escalation in Türkiye’s political tensions. The Ministry of Interior announced Akpolat’s suspension from his position as a “temporary measure” following his arrest on charges of “membership in a criminal
When selecting the person and event of the year for 2024 in both domestic and foreign policy, establishing the criteria is the challenging part – everything else falls into place naturally. My criterion was simple: impact on the overall political trajectory. Specifically, how an individual shaped the course of political developments in 2024, and which
The first tangible outcome of the “Öcalan Initiative” – which MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli initiated by shaking hands with DEM Party members at the Parliament’s opening on October 1 – materialized on December 28. With President Tayyip Erdoğan’s approval, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç granted permission for two DEM Party heavyweights, Pervin Buldan and Sırrı Süreyya
When President Tayyip Erdoğan began reciting the opening verses of Surah Al-Fath in Arabic during his Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group meeting on December 25, amid chants of “Conqueror of Syria,” I wrote in my notebook “We’re going into Syria.” However, launching an operation against the PKK/YPG in Syria is one thing; conquest
Milking a cow constantly makes it hard to obtain sufficient and quality milk. Eventually, the cow becomes unwell and can no longer produce milk. The same goes for taxes. Extracting more taxes than citizens, businesses, and institutions can bear may lead to economic instability and injustice. Excessive tax burdens become unsustainable, especially for low-income groups