Turkey

Turkey’s runaway inflation soars to near 79%

The Turkish government’s continued failure to stabilize the battered lira raises the prospect of inflation topping 100% in the fall. Consumer prices in Turkey rose 4.95% in June, bringing annual inflation to 78.6%, the highest reading since 1998, according to official data released Monday. The spiraling inflation — fueled mainly …

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Turkey: Erdoğan Fishing for Trouble in the Aegean Sea – Again

Various opinion polls put [Erdoğan’s] popularity at less than 30%, compared to the 52% with which he won re-election in 2018. Many Turks, although starving, are nevertheless proud that they have a leader who can confront the “infidel West” — including their traditional rival and neighbor, Greece. It is precisely …

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Madrid sonrası yeni NATO, Batı’nın ayrık otu Türkiye

Erdoğan, Türkiye’nin “Batı ve Rusya arasında” denge politikası sürdürmeye devam edeceğini söyledi. 2022 NATO Stratejik Konsepti’nden sonra bu mümkün değil, olamaz… Türkiye, yeni Avrupa Güvenlik Mimarisi gibi tarihi bir gelişmenin önüne geçebilir miydi? Bundan sonra geçebilir mi? NATO’nun Madrid Zirvesi geride kaldı. Madrid, İttifak’ın yetmiş yılı aşan tarihindeki en önemli …

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Iran Intervenes To Stop Turkish Invasion of Northern Syria

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad thanked Iran Saturday night for helping to reduce tension between Damascus and Ankara. Turkey has been threatening in recent weeks to invade northern Syria, launch a military operation against Kurdish militias in the area, and establish a 30-kilometer buffer zone along the border by removing …

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Recap: Kurds Move to Confront Turkish Threats

Turkey, Finland and Sweden have signed a memorandum “that addresses Turkey’s concerns.” Did Turkey receive a green light to launch an operation in Northern Syria? Ankara’s unexpected decision to welcome Sweden and Finland into NATO led many observers to believe that it got tacit approval from western countries for an …

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Turkey retracts veto on Sweden, Finland joining NATO amid war summit in Madrid

On the eve of the NATO summit focusing on war against Russia in Ukraine as well as confronting China, top officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland agreed on Tuesday in Madrid to a trilateral memorandum of understanding allowing Stockholm’s and Helsinki’s entry into the military alliance. After a meeting attended …

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Pentagon ‘fully supports’ F-16 sale to Turkey

The Biden administration publicly endorsed a plan to sell Turkey fresh fighter jets just a day after Ankara dropped its objection to Sweden and Finland joining NATO over ties to Kurdish groups. Just a day after Turkey said it would accept Sweden’s and Finland’s bids to join the NATO alliance, …

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No respite for Kurds as Turkey’s security forces ramp up repression

Musicians, newlyweds, journalists, and even restaurateurs are not immune to the Turkish government’s repression of its Kurdish population. Dilan Karcik married her teenage sweetheart, Mesut, on June 12. The couple, both ethnic Kurds, celebrated their union with an exuberant bash at a wedding hall in Esenyurt, a working-class suburb of …

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What Turkey won with its NATO leverage

JUST INThe door is back open. After weeks of tension, Turkey finally dropped its objection to Finland and Sweden’s bids to join NATO as the Alliance kicked off its summit in Madrid on Tuesday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan scored a face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden and spurred …

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Turkey Lifts Opposition to NATO Membership for Sweden, Finland

Turkey lifted its opposition to allowing Sweden and Finland to join the NATO Western alliance. Turkey’s agreement came on Tuesday, less than a day before the opening of the NATO summit in Madrid, following talks between leaders of the three countries. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called it a “historic decision.” …

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