TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING, PEACE BILL FINALLY REACHES PARLIAMENT
The long-awaited and kept-under-wraps framework bill that will start the return and release of PKK members was finally submitted to parliament, two years after the process was announced.
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SCANDAL WIDENS FROM AMMUNITION TO MEDIA PAYOFFS
The scandal surrounding Özyurt Arms is no longer limited to unauthorized ammunition production but also about corruption in the media.
LIVE SIGNING GLITCH DISRUPTS ERDOĞAN’S IRAQI SUMMIT
A live signing ceremony crowning Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi's visit to Ankara was disrupted when a Development Road agreement went unsigned, prompting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to intervene on camera and Al Zaidi to confront his own transport minister.
AUSTRALIA JOINS CLIMATE DISINFORMATION PACT AS TURKEY'S STANCE AWAITED AHEAD OF COP31
Australia has joined the Global Initiative on Information Integrity on Climate Change (GIIICC), a landmark effort to combat climate disinformation now backed by 27 countries and the European Union, while Turkey — which will host the COP31 climate summit in November — has yet to declare its position. Turkey in Depth has learned that Turkey is expected to appoint Professor Mehmet Emin Birpınar as spokesperson for COP31.
TURKEY'S DEFENSE EXPORT SUCCESS NEEDS A RESPONSIBILITY CHECK
The NATO summit in Ankara provided an important opportunity for Turkey to showcase the progress of its defense industry. By now, few can have missed the fact that Turkey has become the world's 11th-largest arms exporter.
CENTRAL BANK HOLDS RATE AT 37% AS BUSINESS SECTOR DEMANDS CREDIT RELIEF
The central bank kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 37% during its Monetary Policy Committee meeting on July 23, matching market expectations. However, business leaders are increasingly complaining about high borrowing costs, tight credit restrictions, and falling industrial output.
ANKARA, LONDON CUT RED TAPE ON CARS AND CHEMICALS
A bill aimed at removing technical trade barriers in the automotive and chemical sectors between Turkey and the United Kingdom has been submitted to the Turkish parliament for approval.
DEM PUSHES RULING ALLIANCE TO PASS PEACE PROCESS FRAMEWORK LAW BEFORE RECESS
The DEM Party is intensifying pressure on the AKP/MHP ruling alliance to pass the framework law underpinning Turkey's Kurdish peace process before parliament enters for its summer recess — even as the party struggles to extract details of the draft from the AKP. The push has produced a flurry of contacts. İmralı Delegation members Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, together with Faik Özgür Erol, met AKP Deputy Chair Efkan Ala and AKP Group Chair Abdullah Güler on July 15, and MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli at his office in parliament the following day. Asked about the talks, Buldan declined to elaborate: 'We will not give information on the content.'
TURKISH CYPRIOT LEADERS CAUTIOUS ON NEW PEACE EFFORTS
“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.
NEW TAX INCENTIVES FOR NUCLEAR POWER INVESTMENTS
The parliament’s Planning and Budget Committee has approved an omnibus bill introducing significant tax incentives to boost nuclear energy investments.
ANKARA HESITANTLY ACKNOWLEDGES NEGOTIATIONS TO GET RID OF S-400
The government has started to admit that it is seeking a way to rid itself of the S-400 missiles it bought from Russia.
COMPLIMENTS THAT CHILL ANKARA: TRUMP ON BRUNSON AND IRAN
Paying an official visit to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of the NATO Summit and signaling movement on the F-35 and the Kaan's F110 engines, US President Donald Trump also touched on two subjects that sent a chill through Ankara: the release of American Pastor Andrew Brunson, and Turkey's stance in the US-Israeli war against Iran. Meant as praise, both stories cut deeper than they flattered.