Turkey

SDF Trying to Circumvent U.S. Plan to Hand Over Borders with Turkey to Arabs

The U.S. Envoy to NE Syria met with Arab tribal leaders in the governorates of Hassakeh and Raqqa, according to Orient Net. The recent visit of U.S. State Envoy Nicholas Granger to northeastern Syria, accompanied by intense meetings with political, tribal, and military parties, has strengthened the belief that the …

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Turkey denounces ‘psychological war’ as Western consulates close

Turkey has summoned ambassadors from nine countries after a number of diplomatic missions temporarily shut their doors amid a growing terror threat level. The Turkish interior minister accused the United States and the West on Thursday of waging “psychological war” against Turkey after several states temporarily closed consulates in Istanbul …

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Turkey rises, Russia fades as Iran and Azerbaijan clash over Armenia

The so-called Bashiqa base, which has long been a source of tension between Ankara and Baghdad, is a frequent target of rocket attacks by pro-Iranian groups in Iraq. Series of rockets targeted a Turkish military base near the northeastern Iraqi city of Mosul on Wednesday, prompting retaliation from the Turkish …

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Eight rockets fired at Turkish base in Iraq – Kurdish security group

Unidentified attackers fired eight rockets at a Turkish military base in northern Iraq on Wednesday, two of which landed inside, the Counter-Terrorism Group, a security organisation in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, said. Turkey confirmed that the attack took place and vowed to retaliate. “From time to time, there are some …

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Finland lifts Turkey’s arms embargo, is one step closer to NATO

While Finland seems one step closer to NATO membership after Helsinki’s decision to resume defense sales to Turkey, Ankara’s anger at Sweden shows no signs of abating. Finland lifted on Wednesday a nearly three-year-long arms embargo on Turkey in a fresh move aimed to facilitate Helsinki’s entry to NATO, while …

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Finland lifts Turkey’s arms embargo, is one step closer to NATO

While Finland seems one step closer to NATO membership after Helsinki’s decision to resume defense sales to Turkey, Ankara’s anger at Sweden shows no signs of abating. Finland lifted on Wednesday a nearly three-year-long arms embargo on Turkey in a fresh move aimed to facilitate Helsinki’s entry to NATO, while …

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Murder of former Grey Wolves leader divides Turkey’s nationalists

Questions raised this week about the December shooting of Sinan Ates have placed Erdogan’s allied MHP party under the spotlight as elections loom. The murder of a prominent Turkish nationalist nearly a month ago has cast a shadow over politics, with the scandal threatening to engulf the ruling party’s ally …

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Turkey’s Elections Are Not Just Turkey’s

To maximize the opportunity for the Turkish public to come to the polls… President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan brought forward the election date from an originally scheduled June 18 to May 14. Erdoğan’s treatment — through a judiciary totally under his control — of one of his potential rivals, Istanbul’s Mayor …

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What if Turkey blocks Finland and Sweden NATO bids?

Many believe Ankara can be mollified — at a cost — but rejection of the Nordic countries’ ascension remains a real possibility. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is set to meet his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken in Washington this week. There are scant expectations among observers that the visit will …

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Ankara conveys condemnation to Dutch envoy after Quran desecration

The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned the Dutch envoy in Türkiye’s capital Ankara after the leader of an Islamophobic far-right group desecrated Islam’s holy book, the Quran, the second such instance that took place in Western Europe this week that threatens to deepen the strain with the broader Muslim world. …

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