SAUDI ARABIA LISTS HELP NEEDED UNDER MECCA PACT
Saudi Arabia has sent Ankara a list of the assistance it wants to defend against Houthi attacks in Yemen under the Mecca Defense Agreement.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
ALIYEV DOUBLES DOWN AS ANKARA REMAINS OVERLY CONCILIATORY
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, declined President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s invitation to attend the summit of the Organization of Turkic States, scheduled for the day after Turkey’s Republic Day, marking one of the biggest crises in the two countries' close relationship. Despite Ankara’s visible steps to defuse the recent tension, his refusal to come on a date carrying symbolic importance for Turkey attests to the changing dynamics in the relationship since the military victory over Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020.
BAKU WELCOMES UAE’S UN CANDIDATE AS ANKARA READIES CANDIDATE
Azerbaijan has welcomed the United Arab Emirates’ candidate for UN secretary-general just as Ankara prepares to put forward its own. Then, President Ilham Aliyev decided to skip the Organization of Turkic States summit in Ankara on Oct. 30.
WHY TURKISH STUDENT MOVEMENTS RUN OUT OF STEAM?
I was in Belgrade at the beginning of the month. I started to talk about the political situation in Serbia with the relatively young-looking driver.
NAME DISPUTE OVER, PROVINCIAL CONGRESSES WILL TEST YENİ PARTY’S PROMISES
The Constitutional Court ended discussions about the Yeni Party’s name, but headquarters-backed candidates keep winning in the districts and provinces despite the promises to end the old CHP habit of central control.
PEACE PROCESS STALLS AGAIN
The parliament has not established a commission to monitor progress on the surrender of weapons and personnel by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK, and Kurdish groups are complaining the process is stalled.
ONE NATION, TWO STATES, GROWING DISTANCE
For decades, Turkish foreign policy in the Caucasus rested on a single, unshakeable motto set by former Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev: 'One nation, two states.'
ROUND UP THE USUAL PARTNERS
“Casablanca” ends on a fogbound airfield. The plane to Lisbon has gone, and the idealists with it. What remains is a cynic and a prefect of police, each of whom has just discovered how useful the other might be. “Louis,” says Rick, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
RULING AKP RACES TO CONTAIN FUND SCANDAL AS IT REACHES THE CABINET MEMBERS
The ruling party has rapidly rolled out compensation for some victims of the stock market scandal that is rocking the government, and cut ties with one former minister, while the main opposition Yeni Party links two sitting ministers to the affair.
MECCA PACT ACTIVATED AT BREAKNECK SPEED
Just as the ink was drying on the Mecca Pact, the deployment of troops is now on the table, following Houthi attacks targeting Saudi Arabia.
ASELSAN'S CONTRACT BOOM PEAKS
Borsa Istanbul’s most valuable company since the first half of 2025, Aselsan has agreed a set of record-breaking contracts in recent months.
OPERATIONS AGAINST OPPOSITION MAYORS REACH MERSIN
Fresh judicial action hit opposition-run municipalities on Oct. 1, the day parliament reopened. Mersin Metropolitan Mayor Vahap Seçer, Yenişehir Mayor Abdullah Özyiğit and Mezitli Mayor Ahmet Serkan Tuncer were among 59 people detained.