ISTANBUL SANG BEFORE ANKARA SPOKE
A few weeks before NATO leaders gather in Ankara, Istanbul hosted a more strange kind of summit. It unfolded not in conference halls, but across ferry terminals, concert queues and crowded streets.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
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ERDOĞAN TO OPEN NEW VIP ANKARA AIRPORT, BUT CAN TRUMP'S PLANE TAKE OFF?
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is set to inaugurate Ankara's newly overhauled Etimesgut airfield on June 15, just weeks before the NATO Leaders Summit. But whether Air Force One can use it — particularly for takeoff — may depend on which way US President Donald Trump is headed.
TRUMP COMES TO ANKARA —BUT AT WHAT COST FOR NATO?
According to some, NATO has to become more European in order to remain more Transatlantic. The “Europeanization” of NATO will certainly be the key focus of the Ankara summit in July.
BAHÇELİ PROPOSES ‘PEACE COORDINATOR’ STATUS FOR ÖCALAN
MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli’s call to grant the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan a title involving the word “peace” drew support from the DEM Party and sharp criticism from the right-wing opposition, as all eyes turned to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
ANKARA CALLS EUROPE TO TAKE ON GREATER RESPONSIBILITY FOR NATO
With uncertainty surrounding whether US President Donald Trump will attend the alliance summit in Ankara, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in the capital to discuss preparations.
COST OF OPAQUE GOVERNANCE: TOXIC DEBATES ON NATO & IRAN
“Am I obliged to answer this question?” was the reply of Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan when he was asked about behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts that, according to the anchorwoman, had succeeded in stopping ballistic missile attacks from Iran against Turkey.
NATO, U.S. SAY TURKEY WAS TARGET; ANKARA HOLDS BACK
The intended target of the ballistic missile launched from Iran and intercepted on Turkish airspace on March 4 remains disputed. While Turkey said the missile was heading toward the eastern Mediterranean, NATO said the target was Turkey, and U.S. officials pointed to the location, Incirlik Air Base. Iran, however, denied that Turkey was the intended target.
TURKEY-CHINA RELATIONS: INEVITABLE TANGO
Although NATO remains the cornerstone of Turkey’s security architecture and the European Union still accounts for roughly half of its foreign trade, Ankara’s relationship with Beijing has become increasingly complex, strategic, and — in many respects — inevitable.
HALKI EMERGES AGAIN AS A TEST OF TURKEY’S RELIGIOUS POLITICS
A historic sanatorium on Heybeliada — the island also known as Halki — is set to be transferred to the Directorate of Religious Affairs for the second time, after a previous transfer was annulled by a court. The move comes as the same island is at the center of another religious question: the possible reopening of the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary.
ANKARA WANTS NATO TO LOOK SOUTH AS MUCH AS NORTH
Turkey wants NATO to address threats from all directions — including from Middle Eastern countries — during the Ankara Summit on July 7-8. 'We are reminded that what happens in the south does not stay in the south,' said Ambassador Mehmet Burçin Gönenli, director general for International Security Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, speaking at the 18th Istanbul Security Conference organized by Başkent University and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.
TURKEY, NATO SECRETARIAT SHAPE SUMMIT AGENDA AND GUEST LIST
Turkey is preparing to host a NATO Summit for the first time in 22 years, and is working to finalize both the list of invitees beyond member states and the summit's agenda in consultations with the NATO Secretariat through a series of meetings.
TRUMP IS EXPECTED IN ANKARA
Despite weeks of public speculation, four senior diplomats based in Ankara tell Turkey in Depth that the question of US President Donald Trump's non-attendance of the NATO summit is off the table and preparations are well underway.