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ALIYEV DOUBLES DOWN AS ANKARA REMAINS OVERLY CONCILIATORY
Deciphering Turkish Diplomacy Oct 30, 2026

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.

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TRUMP’S BOARD OF PEACE MAY HAVE FATAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TURKEY
Guest Voices May 29, 2026

TRUMP’S BOARD OF PEACE MAY HAVE FATAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TURKEY

This year’s Munich Security Conference (MSC) held lively discussions on the global security environment, especially in Europe, and the collapse of the rules-based international order. Strained transatlantic relations, the Ukrainian War, and Iran, all burning matters for Turkey, were on the agenda. Figures such as Marco Rubio, Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy reached global audiences from the MSC. Turkey was not heard.

Editorial Team
SEARCH FOR A THIRD WAY WIDENS AMONG CONSERVATIVE AND RIGHT-WING PARTIES
Inside Turkey May 29, 2026

SEARCH FOR A THIRD WAY WIDENS AMONG CONSERVATIVE AND RIGHT-WING PARTIES

Efforts by conservative and right-wing parties to build a “third way” outside the ruling and main opposition blocs are gaining momentum, as Saadet Party and YRP — both rooted in Turkey’s first political Islamist tradition, the National View (Milli Görüş) shaped by Necmettin Erbakan — step up talks on election cooperation. The renewed contacts signal a shift in relations between the two parties, which had previously been at odds over the movement’s legacy following the founding of YRP in 2018. This time, the talks focus on bringing together Saadet Party, YRP, Gelecek Party and DEVA Party under a common framework, with a broader alliance that could also include the İYİ Party.

Editorial Team
MERZ: A CHANCELLOR IN SEARCH OF STABILITY
Guest Voices May 29, 2026

MERZ: A CHANCELLOR IN SEARCH OF STABILITY

Friedrich Merz’s visit to Ankara marks a new phase in German-Turkish relations — the trip served domestic power dynamics in Berlin in political terms rather than through concrete agreements. The chancellor did not come because Turkey has fundamentally changed, but because Germany finds itself in deep economic and political uncertainty. By Ozan Demircan

Editorial Team
HIGH-STAKES DIPLOMACY: ERDOĞAN’S WHITE HOUSE VISIT AND ITS STRATEGIC COSTS
Deciphering Turkish Diplomacy May 29, 2026

HIGH-STAKES DIPLOMACY: ERDOĞAN’S WHITE HOUSE VISIT AND ITS STRATEGIC COSTS

There is a way of establishing a working relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump. First you have to make sure you see him as a smart, respectable world leader. That’s the easy part. Then you have to lure him with trade deals, making sure he is the winning side. Therefore, it comes as no surprise when Turkey unilaterally dropped its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products on Sept. 22, a few days before the scheduled meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. Buzzwords are important for Trump, and tariff is one of them. The tariffs, which covered products including passenger cars, fruit, rice, tobacco, alcoholic beverages, solid fuels, and chemical products, were introduced in 2018 in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports enacted during Trump's first term in office.

Editorial Team
TURKEY-CHINA RELATIONS: INEVITABLE TANGO
Guest Voices May 29, 2026

TURKEY-CHINA RELATIONS: INEVITABLE TANGO

Although NATO remains the cornerstone of Turkey’s security architecture and the European Union still accounts for roughly half of its foreign trade, Ankara’s relationship with Beijing has become increasingly complex, strategic, and — in many respects — inevitable.

Editorial Team
TURKEY’S UNREQUITED LOVE WITH CHINA
Guest Voices May 21, 2026

TURKEY’S UNREQUITED LOVE WITH CHINA

The way Donald Trump was received in Beijing by Xi Jinping showed China’s increased power and confidence in its relations with the US. Trump’s flattery of his host was a clear indication that China will no longer be regarded as an underdog that Trump can push around with arbitrary tariff increases.

Guest Voices
BILAL ERDOĞAN HEADS AKP DELEGATION IN SYRIA VISIT
Inside Turkey May 15, 2026

BILAL ERDOĞAN HEADS AKP DELEGATION IN SYRIA VISIT

Bilal Erdoğan, son of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and chair of the İlim Yayma Foundation, visited Syria on May 14 alongside a senior AKP delegation that included Deputy Chair and Head of Foreign Relations Zafer Sırakaya, parliamentary group deputy chair Abdulhamit Gül, and Gaziantep Mayor Fatma Şahin.

Editorial Team