Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least 19 people and damaged infrastructure, including a Turkish-owned Bayraktar drone factory.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Turkey does not act with hostility unless it faces hostility, stressing that Ankara will not step back if targeted. Commenting on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent statement that “if the sword leaves the sheath, there is no need for words,” Fidan said Turkey will not wait for a threat to materialize across its borders. “We do not threaten unless threatened. If we are faced with hostility, we will not retreat,” he said.
Turkey Bar Association (TBB) President Erinç Sağkan told parliament’s National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission that no political or legal issue in Turkey can be resolved without respect for the constitution.
İsmet Sayhan, former president of the state-owned Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE) and a close associate of MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli, has been arrested.
Nusret Yılmaz, one of the attorneys representing jailed Istanbul Mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu and his wife, Dilek İmamoğlu, has been released under judicial control measures.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has joined Next Sosyal, the social media platform founded by his son-in-law Selçuk Bayraktar, chair of the board of directors at Baykar.
Resignations have begun in the Turkish Armed Forces after promotion decisions by the Supreme Military Council and presidential appointments signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan broke with the long-standing principle of seniority.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone call on Aug. 21, their first direct contact since the NATO summit in June. The two leaders discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine, the crisis in Gaza, and bilateral cooperation, with Erdoğan again stressing Ankara’s interest in deepening defense ties with France. Both later shared posts on X, tagging each other in messages that underlined common concerns but also revealed different priorities. On bilateral ties, Erdoğan said Turkey valued closer cooperation with France, particularly in the defense industry, and wanted to keep advancing relations across multiple fields. Ankara has long sought approval from Paris to procure European air-defense systems. A green light for the sale of Eurosam GIE’s SAMP/T could accelerate Turkey’s plan to build its own missile shield, described as a “steel dome,” within two to three years.
Jailed Istanbul Mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu said his arrest was designed to undermine the government’s “Terror-Free Turkey” initiative, which foresees the PKK’s disarmament.
Journalist Fatih Altaylı, imprisoned in Silivri, conducted an interview through lawyers with CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is also held in the same prison in a different cell.The interview's high point was when İmamoğlu disclosed that he has been learning Kurdish.
Hours after Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili’s visit to Ankara for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Georgian police detained 12 people wanted on Interpol red notices and two sought at the national level in a joint operation with Turkish authorities.
Police detained five people, including three women, outside the Presidential Complex as they attempted to deliver a letter to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan outlining demands related to Palestine. All were reported to be members of the Rainbow Association and the March for Palestine Platform.