Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
“It has been assessed that the life raft, having exited its housing, came into contact with the left tail-fuselage section of the aircraft, causing damage to the aircraft’s horizontal and vertical stabilizers, which may have led to the aircraft’s crash,” a Defense Ministry official said on the C-130 military aircraft that crashed on the Georgia-Azerbaijan border on Nov. 11, 2025.
In the March 8 election in Baden-Württemberg, Green Party candidate Cem Özdemir came first, edging out the CDU, if only narrowly. So far, so unremarkable. The state has, after all, been governed by the Greens since 2011. But the picture changes when the victor, under the Green banner, is Cem Özdemir.
The planned meeting of the Turkish–Greek High-Level Cooperation Council (HLC) in Ankara on February 11 comes when the calm in relations between Ankara and Athens conceals numerous fragilities. That’s just one reason why the meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is unlikely to produce a breakthrough. Rather, the meeting aims to keep communication channels open while both sides pursue sharply divergent agendas in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders met under the facilitation of United Nations Secretary-General’s personal envoy, María Angela Holguín Cuéllar, on Dec. 11. Tufan Erhürman and Nikos Christodoulides reportedly agreed to expedite a series of confidence-building measures. Talks to resolve the decadeslong Cyprus issue are unlikely to gain traction before mid-2026, as both the north and south prepare for critical elections.
Tufan Erhürman, the newly elected president of Northern Cyprus, voiced guarded expectations ahead of his first trilateral meeting on Dec. 11 with Greek Cypriot figure Nikos Christodoulides and UN envoy María Ángela Holguín. Speaking to Turkish journalists, Erhürman said that shifting regional dynamics and a long record of unsuccessful rounds make a rapid return to substantive talks unrealistic — particularly without agreed-upon parameters.
Turkey’s Minimum Wage Determination Commission is preparing for its first major structural overhaul in 50 years after unions said the current system blocks fair representation. The Labor Ministry has proposed an “interim formula” that would cut the government’s seats from five to one, reducing the 15-member body to 11 while keeping five worker and five employer representatives.
The ruling AKP submitted its 11th Judicial Package to Parliament, reviving a pandemic-era execution rule that could lead to the release of up to 115,000 inmates. The clause concerning juvenile offenders was removed from the final draft. Although the bill originally included prison sentences for LGBT+, this was also dismissed.
The tail broke off first, and then the fuselage split into three pieces, according to preliminary findings in the C-130 transport plane that crashed in Georgia on Nov. 11, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said.
The provision targeting LGBTQI+ individuals in the draft known as the 11th Judicial Package has been removed following strong backlash from human rights groups and civil society organizations.
A social media post by the Court of Cassation’s 11th Civil Chamber President Abdullah Yaman has ignited a heated conflict involving a top judge, a prominent businessperson, and the pro-government daily Yeni Şafak, drawing attention to serious corruption allegations within Turkey’s judiciary.
Veteran Kurdish politician Ahmet Türk of the DEM Party has been acquitted of charges of promoting terrorist propaganda over a 2011 speech in Siirt, which had formed the legal basis for his replacement by a trustee as mayor of Mardin.
Following the PKK’s dissolution and decision to lay down arms, the Parliamentary Commission on Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy has completed 45 days of work. Having met 11 times, the commission will discuss a “Return Home Law” once parliament reopens on Oct. 1.