Turkey

It is a cliché for politicians to claim that an upcoming election is the most critical vote in the history of the country. In Turkey’s case, however, the presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14 are indeed the most consequential ever. The prospects for Turkey’s democratic future are at stake. …

Every national election is a pivotal moment for any country, but some can be truly historic turning points. This was so for the 2002 election which brought Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AKP into power, and it is so for the 2023 election, which might very well mark the end …

Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu are wrapping up their campaigns; Russia became an issue in Friday’s rallies. With less than 40 hours to go until Turkey’s closest elections in its modern history, incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his top rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu are …

Turkish presidential election Sunday goes down to the wires From a geopolitical perspective, the Turkish presidential election on Sunday may appear to be one of the most crucial non-violent political events of this year. But appearances can be deceptive in Turkish politics. In the surcharged polarisation of “West versus Rest” …

On March 18, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mavlut Cavusoglu paid the first visit of its kind to Cairo in a decade. This move reciprocates a recent visit by his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukri, to the Turkish city of Mersin on February 27, which was in response to the devastating earthquake that …

Türkiye is raising the heat on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, denouncing its ties with the Syrian Democratic Forces. After a helicopter carrying Syrian Kurdish fighters crashed in Duhok on March 26, Türkiye imposed a ban on all flights to and from Sulaimaniyah through its airspace. It did so because …

Turkey has still yet to restart oil flows from northern Iraq following a controversial court ruling despite efforts by Iraqi and Kurdish authorities. The stoppage is threatening the Kurdistan Region’s oil sector. Iraq’s state oil company has officially asked Turkey to restart its oil pipeline with the Kurdistan Region, Kurdish …

Even if victory for the opposition reinvigorates Turkey’s relations with NATO, analysts say there’s no chance Ankara will break off ties with Russia. The emergence of a credible challenger to the two-decade rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has raised a glimmer of hope in Washington for a potential revival …

Muslum Urper was so-called special forces operative of terror group, say security sources A senior PKK/KCK terrorist was “neutralized” in a Turkish intelligence operation in Iraq’s northern Gara region, security sources said on Wednesday. Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) “neutralized” Muslum Urper, a so-called special forces operative of the terror …

Ankara, for its part, stressed the need for cooperation on the return of Syrian refugees, the top Turkish diplomat said ahead of Turkey’s crucial elections. The top Turkish and Syrian diplomats discussed the return of Syrian refugees and cooperation against terrorism during their first face to face meeting hosted in …