Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Turkey once again requested the extradition of hundreds of people from the Netherlands, as the Dutch Justice and Security Minister David van Weel expressed hope that Turkey could play a mediating role in the war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran.
As Turkey steps up mediation efforts to halt the war against Iran, it is seeking to avoid holding the United States directly responsible.
While Ankara is seeking to strengthen its ties with the Washington administration, U.S. Ambassador to Ankara and Special Envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack has dusted off an old project aimed at transforming Turkey and Syria into a hub for energy security as an alternative to the Persian Gulf, caught in the crossfire for a month.
Turkey is unlikely to return to the “grey list” of jurisdictions that don’t do enough to fight money laundering.
The war on Iran has once again revealed the confusing complexities of Turkey’s geostrategic positioning as a middle power between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar denied media reports that Iran stopped natural gas exports to Turkey following an Israeli military strike on the South Pars gas field on March 18.
NATO has launched efforts to establish a second headquarters in Turkey, adding to the alliance’s presence and strengthening its posture against threats from the Middle East.
The European Union has requested full access to Turkey’s public procurement market as a condition for including Turkish goods under the 'Made in Europe' initiative.
A Turkish company is the main contractor for a project in which the U.S. will provide bombs to Israel, sparking controversy in Turkey.
In response to the reinforcement of defense in Southern Cyprus by Greece and some European countries due to the Iran conflict, Turkey deployed F-16 fighter jets and additional air defense systems to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) for the first time in 28 years.
NATO announced that its assets shot down two ballistic missiles aimed at Turkey in a week, but Iran denied that they had targeted Turkey. Since the Defense Ministry and NATO did not provide information on which region of Iran the ballistic missiles were launched from, the route taken by the missiles and their target became a matter of debate.
Turkey has withdrawn civilian administrative units from the Operation Olive Branch zone in northern Syria after seven years of activity, according to a statement by Şanlıurfa Governor Hasan Şıldak. The announcement prompted questions regarding the withdrawal of Turkish armed forces from the area.