Turkey

At the NATO Summit that was held last week in Vilnius, the capital of the Baltic state of Lithuania, the agenda was dominated by the Ukraine war and Sweden’s bid to join the alliance. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan surprised NATO by announcing before his departure for Vilnius that he …

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s leaders gathered this week for a major summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Of course, the main focus was on Ukraine, and a new NATO-Ukraine Council was established to help boost cooperation. The alliance also agreed that Ukraine will someday join the club. To the disappointment of …

The wait is (nearly) over. After more than a year of ups and downs since Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has agreed to back Stockholm’s bid to become the Alliance’s thirty-second member. The announcement came on the eve of the NATO Summit …

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan talks about an “evil West” but wants to become part of it — perhaps to “improve” it? Erdoğan needs money. He needs it now, and preferably from Western markets instead of one-off cash injections from Russia and friendly Gulf states. Erdoğan aims to… [k]eep within …

Ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Gulf tour which will include Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, Ankara is working to maximize economic cooperation with regional states in a bid to ease its foreign currency crunch. Speaking ahead of his Gulf tour on that starts on Monday, Turkish President …

The Turkish leader is navigating Ankara’s relationships in ways that he believes best benefit Turkey’s interests and above all his own political survival. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “U-turn” on Sweden’s accession to NATO during the alliance summit in Vilnius has prompted a flurry of Western commentary on how Turkey …

The comments clearly signal that the drama over Sweden’s accession is not over, and Turkey’s push to overcome Congressional sanctions and acquire F-16 fighter jets remains the main sticking point. As NATO leaders continue to applaud Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his last minute U-turn greenlighting Sweden’s NATO membership …

Turkiye’s National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) has exposed a vast “ghost” network of dozens of operatives working for the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, in the latest Turkish operation to bust a foreign espionage ring. According to the Turkish newspaper, Daily Sabah, the MIT recently uncovered a cell of 56 Mossad operatives, …

Turkey said its latest ban is in response to “the intensification of activities by the PKK terrorist organization in Sulaimaniyah.” Turkey on Monday extended a flight ban to Iraqi Kurdistan’s Sulaimaniyah International Airport for six months, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials confirmed, in a move that will further squeeze the …

In an apparent jab at Sweden and the United States, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country wouldn’t cave to “veiled threats.” Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan amped up the rhetoric against Stockholm on Monday with merely days left before the critical meeting between Turkish, NATO and Swedish officials over …