Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted the DEM Party’s İmralı delegation, as the parliamentary commission listened to Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç for the first time since the PKK announced that all its forces in Turkey had begun withdrawing to northern Iraq.
In a symbolic act seen by many as the first step toward a “terror-free Turkey,” a 30-member group affiliated with the PKK ceremonially burned their weapons and gear in front of a fire sacred to Kurds, initiating a process expected to proceed through mutual steps. In response, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş invited political party representatives to a July 18 meeting to discuss forming a parliamentary commission tasked with drafting the legal framework for this new peace initiative.
Ankara is often described by those who do not know it well as a grey city. This is unfair, though not entirely mysterious. A city that must constantly perform seriousness is rarely forgiven for having charm. Yet Ankara’s charm is real. It is private, reveals itself slowly, and almost always just outside the official frame. It is a city of dry light, hard hills, old stones, republican geometry, Ottoman shadows, Roman fragments, Seljuk craft and streets that remember more than they are prepared to explain. This is why Ankara deserves a cultural diplomacy route, a way of showing visitors not only what the city proudly displays, but also what it half-remembers, neglects, misnames, hides or leaves to survive behind other buildings.
The legislation comes amid disagreements with Greece and Israel in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Following Tufan Erhürman’s landslide victory in the presidential election with almost 63% of the vote in Northern Cyprus, the Republican Turkish Party (CTP)—which Erhürman formerly led—is preparing to take power in the upcoming general elections, expected by January 2026 at the latest. Sıla Usar İncirli, 54, the CTP’s new and first female chair, said that the party favors a federation model as part of the search for a solution in Cyprus, and they have begun drafting their government program.
TA that signed engines agreement with GE is currently developing the Kaan and Hürjet aircraft.
A series of aircraft crashes related to the Turkish Armed Forces over the past six months has sparked debate over whether there was external interference.
Turkey launched offshore oil and gas exploration off the eastern coast of Africa, deploying a 7th-generation ultra-deepwater drillship. Simultaneously, Turkish F-16 fighter jets, T-129 attack helicopters, and AS-532 Cougar utility helicopters, and the aircraft performed ceremonial flyovers across Mogadishu.
“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.
Blue Homeland-26, one of the Turkish Armed Forces’ most extensive exercises this year, was conducted from April 3 to 9 in the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, and the Eastern Mediterranean, with the participation of 120 ships, 50 aircraft, and 15,000 personnel from the Naval, Land, and Air Force Commands, as well as the Coast Guard Command.
Following the signing of an agreement with the U.K. in Oct. 2025 to procure 40 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, the defense ministers of the two countries signed a contract for technical and logistical support regarding the maintenance and operation of these aircraft.
Turkish defense and software company HAVELSAN said its Flight Training Device Level 2 simulator for Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft has received FNPT II MCC and FTD Level 2 certification, making it the first platform produced and certified at this level in Turkey.