Turkey

Turkey Briefing

As actors involved have notably toned down their objections to Turkey’s potential ground offensive in northern Syria, the ball seems to be in Russia’s court, but how can Ankara convince Moscow to give it a green light?

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Turkey presses Finland, Sweden for ‘asset freeze,’ extraditions

Ankara demands “concrete steps” from Sweden and Finland before giving the nod to NATO’s Nordic enlargement, including an “asset freeze,” a demand that hasn’t been expressed publicly before. Turkey will wait for more concrete steps — including a freeze of “terror assets” in Sweden and Finland — before giving a …

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The risks and rewards of Erdogan’s next military operation

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signaled his intent to soon launch the ground phase of Operation Claw-Sword, a military operation designed to clear areas along Turkey’s southern borders of fighters from affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK, which the United States lists as a terrorist organization. A …

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Turkey vows to expand effort to end ‘terrorist’ threat beyond its borders

The Turkish ministry of defense claims to have killed 471 Kurdish militants in 271 separate attacks in Syria and Iraq since the start of the operation The Turkish Minister of Defense, Hulusi Akar, visited the Turkish troops on the border with Iraq on 27 November to inspect the ongoing operations …

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Turkey’s strikes in Syria put US troops in danger, Pentagon says

A Turkish drone strike on a top Kurdish commander’s headquarters came within 130 meters of US troops in Syria on Tuesday. The Pentagon warned on Wednesday that Turkey’s airstrikes against Kurdish forces in northeast Syria endanger US troops and threaten to undermine years of progress in the war against the …

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Sisi, Erdogan meet, pledge new era of Egypt-Turkey relations

Turkish analysts believe that the enthusiastic handshake between Sisi and Erdogan may facilitate the budding rapprochement but will not be a magic wand, particularly in Libya. Brushing aside name-calling and accusations of the past, the Turkish and Egyptian presidents shared an enthusiastic handshake on the sidelines of the opening ceremony …

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Turkey’s Russian-built nuclear plant could amplify Moscow’s regional influence

Some experts are warning that Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, which is being built by Russia’s Rosatom, might become a tool to advance Russian interests in the region. A potential security threat has emerged for NATO and Europe at large: the construction of Turkey’s first nuclear plant. Experts say the project by Russia …

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Turkey strikes near US base in Syria after Pentagon calls for de-escalation

The US military says it opposes Ankara’s plans to send ground troops against Syria’s Kurds, but it has stood down in the face of similar attacks in the past. A suspected Turkish drone strike hit a Kurdish-led militia base in northeast Syria on Tuesday, killing two members of a local …

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