Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
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.
Turkey's most powerful ballistic missile made its public debut on April 7 — not through an official announcement, but through a presidential photo op at Roketsan's inauguration ceremony, with no details offered to guests or media.
Turkey shows signs of renewing its ties with its NATO alliance partners amid the ongoing Iran crisis. The renewal of vows follows a tempestuous period in its relations not only with the U.S. but also with NATO following the acquisition of the S-400 air defense system from Russia. Particularly over the past 20 years, facing U.S. CAATSA sanctions and Europe’s covert arms embargoes in the fight against the PKK, Turkey’s government and opposition have both questioned the value of NATO membership.
An Istanbul court accepted an indictment against DW Turkish correspondent Alican Uludağ, ruled it had no jurisdiction over the case, and then transferred the file to Ankara.
The excessive use of anti-terror laws came under renewed criticism in Geneva as five United Nations special rapporteurs issued a joint statement urging Turkey to stop criminalizing human rights defenders and lawyers.
Turkey once again requested the extradition of hundreds of people from the Netherlands, as the Dutch Justice and Security Minister David van Weel expressed hope that Turkey could play a mediating role in the war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran.
As Turkey steps up mediation efforts to halt the war against Iran, it is seeking to avoid holding the United States directly responsible.
A second Turkish opposition party has voiced support for early elections, backing a call made by the CHP following a wave of detentions targeting CHP-run municipalities.
While Ankara is seeking to strengthen its ties with the Washington administration, U.S. Ambassador to Ankara and Special Envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack has dusted off an old project aimed at transforming Turkey and Syria into a hub for energy security as an alternative to the Persian Gulf, caught in the crossfire for a month.
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.
The poet Nazım Hikmet writes in his poem The Postman: “The news of humankind, of the world, of the homeland / The news of the tree, the wolf, the bird / At dawn or in the middle of the night / I carried to people in the middle of my heart...”
Turkey is unlikely to return to the “grey list” of jurisdictions that don’t do enough to fight money laundering.