Turkey

As Turkish military dive teams this week safely defused their third floating naval mine in Turkish waters since March 26, some maritime experts said the explosives still pose a threat to Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait. On March 19, Russia’s FSB intelligence service said 420 naval mines were drifting freely in the …

What’s left of Turkey’s presidential system may be further eroded if Erdogan follows in Hungary’s “illiberal” footsteps. Diplomacy has been termed “the art of deceit,” but few doubt that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was anything but sincere when he phoned Hungary’s Viktor Orban today to congratulate him on his …

Turkey can provide ship support for the evacuation of civilians and injured Turkish and other nationals in Mariupol through the sea, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on April 3. “In this context, our coordination with authorities of the Russian Federation and Ukraine continues,” Akar said. Ankara has conveyed its request …

Turkey’s westward focus may complicate, or complement, Ankara’s previous priority of Eurasia. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has swung the pendulum for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the “Eurasianism” that ultimately lies in his heart back to Turkey’s traditional “Atlanticism.” He and members of his Cabinet are going out of their …

Turkey is not a new actor in Africa but is an increasingly important one. Its presence in West Africa has aroused widespread attention and even concern. Talks about win-win policy and equal partnerships seem positive, especially as existing collaborations on peace and security, such as with France, haven’t produced the …

Turkey played host for the second time as peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine resumed today. Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine resumed in Istanbul after a two-week pause today. It’s the second time the sides have met in Turkey, which has sought to position itself as an honest broker …

Turkey on Monday found a mine floating off of its coast near Bulgaria and Turkish defense officials were working to defuse it. It is the second mine deployed by Ukraine in the Black Sea to halt the advance of Russian troops to be discovered floating off of Turkey’s coast in …

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seem to be competing for a mediator role between Russia and Ukraine, but are they? Jerusalem has been cautious these past few days over Israel’s mediation efforts between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, first …

As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan watches Russian forces flounder in Ukraine, he may be rethinking his own ambitions — or concluding that Turkey is in a better spot than ever. Turkey’s diplomatic isolation was the focus of excited punditry in recent years. But today, Ankara is running out of …

Turkey’s position over the Russian invasion of Ukraine ​​has resonated as a pro-Western shift in Ankara’s foreign policy, but Erdogan needs to go the extra mile. Turkey is no longer the isolated country it was 21 days ago. The ruthless Russian invasion in Ukraine that began Feb. 24 has changed …