Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will have several bilateral meetings in the margins of the NATO summit; yet all of them will be very short. His longest meeting will be with Antonio Costa and Ursula Von Der Leyen,” a Turkish diplomat told a European expert at a side event that took place in Ankara.
Haluk Levent is a musician who rose to fame in the early 1990s, performing what is known as Anatolian Rock.
The parliament’s Planning and Budget Committee has approved an omnibus bill introducing significant tax incentives to boost nuclear energy investments.
Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat led a high-stakes diplomatic mission in Brussels on July 16-17 to secure Turkey's inclusion in the European Union’s upcoming 'Made in Europe' framework.
Most market participants expect the central bank to keep the policy rate unchanged at 37% when it meets on July 23, but pressure is building for a cut and some experts are calling for a wholesale shift in monetary policy.
The US has started the process of removing Syria's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, which it has held since 1979 — a win for Turkey and for visiting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Foreign investors' confidence in Turkish equities is under mounting pressure as two of the world's leading index providers signaled Istanbul's stock market could face a downgrade. Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) issued another warning regarding investment accessibility and shareholder transparency, announcing it may re-evaluate free-float structures on a company-by-company basis and reclassify certain shareholders as 'non-free float' to address distorted calculations driven by coordinated fund actions.
Legislation designed to ensure the surrender of thousands of armed Kurdish militants will be passed before the end of the summer as the government tries to push the high-tension disarmament process over the line, according to remarks from Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş.
Turkey's political agenda is expected to pivot sharply from diplomacy to domestic maneuvering as post-NATO scenarios dominate the discussion from July 9 onward. The conclusion of the NATO Ankara Summit, widely seen as an international success for Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan personally, has triggered intense political speculation amid increasing pressure on dissidents.
The word of the week is şatafat, and Ankara supplied the visual aid. At the NATO summit, Turkey received its guests with the full vocabulary of Erdoğan-era grandeur: mehter music, ceremonial guards, a turquoise carpet that seemed designed less for walking than for being recorded, and the Erdoğan couple standing before the vast Presidential Complex, its doors polished to a shine usually reserved for furniture showrooms. There was also the choreography.
Companies showcased $70 billion in products to state leaders at the defense industry forum that took place alongside the NATO Summit in Ankara.
Trump made ambiguous statements regarding the US delivery of F-35s to Turkey. Ankara, meanwhile, continues to seek a solution to the S-400 issue.