Turkey’s unremitting assault against the PKK is destabilizing Iraqi Kurdistan, weakening the rebels on the one hand while bolstering support for them among disaffected locals on the other. On Nov. 16, 2013, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan presided over a mass wedding in the Kurds’ informal capital, Diyarbakir, amid piercing …
Read More »Kyrgyzstan denies role in Turkey’s rendition of Gulen-linked educator
While the Kyrgyz government has denied helping Turkish intelligence services kidnap a Turkish-Kyrgyz educator, rights groups say it’s unlikely that he could have been taken otherwise. Kyrgyz authorities have denied claims that they conspired in the kidnapping by Turkish intelligence services of a Turkish-Kyrgyz educator who went missing from Bishkek …
Read More »Turkey’s Challenge to the Regional Status Quo Begins in the Eastern Mediterranean
On July 24, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined thousands of worshippers in the streets around the historic Hagia Sophia in Istanbul for a doubly symbolic moment. Surrounded by a swarm of politicians, soldiers, security forces and imams, the Turkish leader made his way into the giant, former Byzantine cathedral …
Read More »Turkey and Egypt Open the Door to a Diplomatic Thaw
In mid-March, Turkey and Egypt confirmed they’d had their first diplomatic contact since breaking off relations in 2013. Though the talks were described by Egyptian sources as preliminary, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying, “Contacts at the diplomatic level have started.” The thaw comes after a decade …
Read More »Russian Expert Plotnikov: Russia No Longer Is The Only Player In The Trans Caucasus, Turkey’s Influence Is Comparable
Dmitry Plotnikov, an expert on “soft power” and the post-Soviet space authored an analysis titled “Turkey Is Building a New Ottoman Empire”, where he analyzed the growing ties between Ankara and Baku and concluded that Russia has lost its formerly dominant position in Azerbaijan. This is most evident in military …
Read More »Das soll die Türkei 2021 sein?
Präsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan gehe es mit dem Austritt der Türkei aus der Istanbul-Konvention um Machterhalt, kommentiert Karin Senz. Frauen und die LGBTI+-Szene müssten als neues Feindbild herhalten. Damit bediene der türkische Präsident seine nationalistische und konservative Wählerschaft. Ankara hat Angst vor dem Regenbogen und vor modernen Frauen. Wenn es …
Read More »How Erdoğan’s Miscalculation Crippled Turkey’s Aerial Firepower
Turkey is still blackmailing the U.S. (and NATO allies) that it may opt for a Russian fighter jet, the Su-57, for instance, in case it feels threatened by the lack of a new generation fighter aircraft. This is bluffing. Turkish Air Force generals know too well that switching from NATO-standard …
Read More »What Erdogan’s Tilt to the West Means for Russia–Turkey Relations
Turkey’s president is trying to sound more helpful to the West. But his broader policy objectives have not changed. On 14 June, US President Joe Biden met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels. Ankara had long anticipated the meeting, as the transfer …
Read More »Pro-Turkish Factions Confiscate Property of Displaced Persons
The pro-Turkish al-Hamza Division summoned the mayors of the villages and towns which they control – Ma’arat, Kazeh, Kfardali Fawqani, and Kfardali. The Division demanded the mayors to count the property of the forcibly displaced people from the aforementioned areas, to take full control over them. According to the Syrian …
Read More »Turkey’s illegal renditions of Syrian nationals back in spotlight
Critics say the arrest of Syrian citizens and their extradition to Turkey violates Turkish and international humanitarian law. The rendition of Syrian nationals to Turkey, where they are prosecuted and jailed on thinly evidenced terror charges, has returned to the spotlight with the life sentencing by a Turkish court of …
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