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TRUMP’S BOARD OF PEACE MAY HAVE FATAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TURKEY
Guest Voices May 29, 2026

TRUMP’S BOARD OF PEACE MAY HAVE FATAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TURKEY

This year’s Munich Security Conference (MSC) held lively discussions on the global security environment, especially in Europe, and the collapse of the rules-based international order. Strained transatlantic relations, the Ukrainian War, and Iran, all burning matters for Turkey, were on the agenda. Figures such as Marco Rubio, Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy reached global audiences from the MSC. Turkey was not heard.

Editorial Team
ORHAN PAMUK: THE LINE BETWEEN CRITICISM AND LYNCHING
Portrait of the Week May 29, 2026

ORHAN PAMUK: THE LINE BETWEEN CRITICISM AND LYNCHING

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Orhan Pamuk. “The Museum of Innocence.” A television series. With its release, months later, the public agenda shifted. Justice, legal troubles, and the deepening, ever more painful economic crisis were suddenly pushed aside. This series — along with the book of the same name and its author, Orhan Pamuk — took center stage, especially on social media.

Anonymous
POPE PAYS HISTORIC VISIT TO TURKEY AMID REGIONAL TENSIONS
Foreign Affairs May 29, 2026

POPE PAYS HISTORIC VISIT TO TURKEY AMID REGIONAL TENSIONS

Pope Leo XIV, spiritual leader of 1.5 billion Catholics, is making his first overseas trip to Turkey since his May inauguration. The visit, which began Nov. 27 in Ankara, will continue through Nov. 30. The Pope’s trip aims to commemorate a key Christian anniversary and send a message of peace amid efforts to end the war in Ukraine and ease tensions in the Middle East.

Editorial Team
SELÇUK BAYRAKTAR AGAIN TURKEY'S TOP TAXPAYER
Economy and Finance May 29, 2026

SELÇUK BAYRAKTAR AGAIN TURKEY'S TOP TAXPAYER

The Revenue Administration has announced the top income taxpayers in 2024, with most names once again kept confidential. For the fourth year in a row, Baykar Chair of the Board Selçuk Bayraktar, who is also President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law, ranked first, paying 2.77 billion lira in income tax.

Editorial Team
WHAT ANKARA DOES NOT PUT ON THE BROCHURE
The Third Desk May 15, 2026

WHAT ANKARA DOES NOT PUT ON THE BROCHURE

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.

Editorial Team
FIDAN BRIEFS LOYALIST MEDIA OFF THE RECORD — BUT TO WHAT END?
Foreign Affairs May 8, 2026

FIDAN BRIEFS LOYALIST MEDIA OFF THE RECORD — BUT TO WHAT END?

Journalist Deniz Zeyrek writes about a closed-door briefing organized by AKP's media and communications chief Faruk Acar, at which Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke to senior editors and Ankara bureau chiefs from pro-government outlets about Turkey's foreign policy. Zeyrek identifies three problems with the meeting.

Editorial Team
RUSSIAN AND FRENCH EMBASSIES IN ANKARA SPAR ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN TURKISH
Foreign Affairs Feb 27, 2026

RUSSIAN AND FRENCH EMBASSIES IN ANKARA SPAR ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN TURKISH

In a rare diplomatic spat in the local language, the Russian and French diplomatic missions in Ankara traded barbs on social media over the ongoing war in Ukraine amid the war’s anniversary. The dispute, which drew attention from Turkish users, shifted from geopolitical accusations to historical insults and the use of emojis.

Editorial Team