Turkey

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 …

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 …

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. …

The Iraqi economy is suffering from the US dollar’s rise as a result of smuggling dollars outside of Iraq. As Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani entered Basra Stadium on Thursday to attend the final game of the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup, hundreds of Iraqis chanted, “Bring the dollar price down.” …

Ankara’s quest to restore ties with Damascus has left its Syrian rebel allies confused as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the jihadi group controlling Idlib, seeks to raise its profile and lure the disenchanted to its ranks. As the Turkish-Syrian dialogue advances and the prospect of Ankara pulling the plug on its …

Three days of protests followed a demonstration in Stockholm as President Erdogan says Sweden lost Turkey’s support for its NATO accession Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at Swedish authorities Monday over protests in Sweden. Turkish reactions to protests in Stockholm — in particular the burning of a Quran …

The emergence of new centres of power in Eurasia has entailed a re-reading of Zbigniew Brzezinski’s book which drew an analogy between the Eurasian supercontinent and a grand chessboard. Following the global financial crisis of the last few years, countries like China, Russia and India have started to project greater …

If the Swedish government fails to take action on ongoing terrorist PKK/PYD propaganda, the tension in ties may grow, says Turkish President Erdogan Türkiye on Sunday criticized Sweden along with other European states over tolerating a continuing terrorist presence, as the country’s president said the extradition of terrorists is a …

For Putin, Erdoğan’s friendship is growing ever more important — and vice versa. Turkey has refused to join Western sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, thereby throwing a lifeline to Putin. Turkish skies remain open to Russian airlines and its doors open to hundreds of thousands of Russians and their money. …

Syrian jihadi groups are increasing their attacks on Syrian army outposts, as tripartite meetings between Russia, Turkey and Syria hint at a potential rapprochement deal to end the decade-long war. Jamaat al-Tawhid, an affiliate of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a designated terrorist group by the US and United Nations, confirmed …