Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Amid renewed calls for unity during the ongoing peace efforts with the PKK, and following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent emphasis on solidarity among Turks, Kurds, and Arabs, MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli has confirmed reports that he proposed appointing two vice presidents—one Kurdish and one Alevi—in a closed-door party meeting.
Parliament has passed sweeping tax exemption measures for goods, services, and imports tied to the country's hosting of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, scheduled to take place in Antalya from November 9–20.
Afyonkarahisar Mayor Burcu Köksal will resign from the CHP to join the ruling AKP, several reports said.
The reopening of a six-year-old cold case involving a missing university student has reignited the main opposition’s anger towards Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, as the recent reports show then–Tunceli governor Tuncay Sonel played a critical role in covering up the case of the missing young woman Gülistan Doku.
Turkish authorities launched a new anti-drug operation on March 25, detaining high-profile figures from the worlds of sports, business, and entertainment. The raids marked the end of a brief lull in such operations following the appointment of the new interior and justice ministers in February.
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.
A new U.S. tariff move targeting countries that do business with Iran is placing billions of dollars of Turkey’s trade at risk, with exports to the United States and energy trade with Iran most exposed.
The drug-using operation that started with artists in October, then extended to sports, media, business and politics, continues with the unlawful sharing of private conversations and denials of drug use despite forensic reports. The names of some prosecutors, politicians and advisers appeared in the investigation early on, yet media coverage has so far remained silent about them.
The political parties represented in the parliamentary commission — tasked with supervising the Terror-Free Turkey initiative — have started submitting their reports to the speaker of Parliament. But both the governing bloc and the opposition appear far from agreeing on a common “solution law.”
When Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy landed in Ankara on Nov. 19, press reports had already started to make the headlines, revealing details of a peace plan drafted by the U.S. and Russia.
The Defense Ministry denied reports that Turkey cannot use the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets it will procure from the U.K. against Greece over the Aegean Sea.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan removed additional tariffs on certain U.S.-made products, including automobiles, ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. The Presidential Decree was published in the Official Gazette, saying that no additional taxes will be imposed on imports of U.S.-origin products such as passenger cars, cosmetics and skin care products, leaf tobacco, and alcoholic beverages.