YILDIRIM PUSHES BACK ON OPERATION TALK, THEN APPEARS AT PARTY EVENT
Binali Yıldırım, Turkey's last prime minister who has long been sidelined by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has also entered the agenda alongside the Gökçek case.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
AFTER BACKING HIS REMARKS AT COURT, DAVUTOĞLU INVITES ERDOĞAN
For the first time in Turkish history, a former prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, was summoned for criticizing the president and then he invited President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to his son’s wedding ceremony.
GÖKÇEK PROBE EXPANDS TO SON, DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AND 36 TENDER COMPANIES
Ahmet and Hülya Gökçek, the son and daughter-in-law of former Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek, were questioned as suspects on Sept. 7 and released under judicial control with a ban on leaving Turkey.
TREASON THEN, TARGET NOW: GOVERNMENT REVIVES BRIDGE PRIVATIZATION
The government has put the lucrative Bosphorus bridges and major state highways back on sale 14 years after cancelling a similar tender. The move comes as medium-term plans include significantly higher privatization revenue in the coming years.
MEDIUM-TERM PROGRAM DROPS STRONG LIRA POLICY, FUELS ELECTION TALK
The government revealed its new Medium-Term Program (OVP) covering 2027–2029, outlining macroeconomic targets that analysts view as unusually realistic while hinting at election preparations for 2027.
CENTRAL BANK HOLDS MAIN INTEREST RATE AT 37% AS EXPECTED
Turkey's central bank held its benchmark interest rate steady on Sept. 10, matching market expectations as energy cost pressures continue to pose risks to the inflation outlook.
THE MECCA TRAP: WHY TURKEY'S NEW PACT BETRAYS ITS OWN INTERESTS
The Mecca Joint defense Agreement signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan at the beginning of last month came as a surprise to many, although Turkey was interested in joining the defense agreement signed by the latter two a year ago. The new agreement goes further than defense cooperation due to a collective security pledge modelled on NATO’s famous Article 5.
PEACE COMES WITH A CATALOGUE
In Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove, the American president interrupts a scuffle between General Buck Turgidson and the Soviet ambassador with an appeal to institutional dignity. “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room.”
TURKEY STANDS TO PASS US LOYALTY TEST
The Trump administration has handed NATO allies a list of questions within the framework of an ongoing six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe.
ANKARA’S OUTRAGE OVER GLORIFICATION OF MLADIC
International outrage erupted following the state-supported funeral ceremony for convicted Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic in Serbia. Critics worldwide denounced the honors as an attempt to glorify a perpetrator of genocide. Turkey joined the global backlash on Sept. 8, a day after the ceremony.
ISRAEL'S NEW ANKARA ENVOY WAS BEHIND JUNE DECISION THAT ANGERED ANKARA
Joel Lion, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi and close associate of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, presented his credentials in Ankara on Sept. 9 and left the same day after attending a US Independence Day reception.
KURDISH POLITICS SET TO RESTRUCTURE IN 'TERROR-FREE TURKEY' PROCESS
Kurdish politics is preparing for a major structural overhaul as Turkey is expected to move forward with its peace initiative, referred to by the government as the 'Terror-Free Turkey' process.