Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Pro-government television commentator Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı was remanded in custody on May 18 as part of a wide illegal betting and money laundering investigation led by the Adana Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
The AKP has begun laying the groundwork for the 2028 presidential and parliamentary elections, with plans to formally launch its campaign on Aug. 14 — the 25th anniversary of the party’s foundation.
At the 41st hearing of the sweeping Istanbul Municipality corruption trial, nine more defendants were released ahead of Eid al-Adha, bringing the total number of remaining detainees to 68.
Diplomacy, at its best, is the art of managing appearances. At its worst, it is the art of mistaking those appearances for reality.
The way Donald Trump was received in Beijing by Xi Jinping showed China’s increased power and confidence in its relations with the US. Trump’s flattery of his host was a clear indication that China will no longer be regarded as an underdog that Trump can push around with arbitrary tariff increases.
Ahead of the AKP’s inaction, MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli has outlined a detailed institutional framework to advance the peace process, urging all three branches of government to take concrete steps — while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared his government's determination to see it through without giving up caution.
The PKK’s disarmament, which has now stretched beyond a year and a half, has stalled at precisely the most critical stage — the point at which the state is expected to take action. Unless the government softens its precondition that “the disarmament process must first be fully completed,” the expected legal steps will likely be postponed until the new legislative year in October. The risks posed by delay are being discussed and meanwhile it also appears set to derail the transformation plans of the DEM Party, which has already started the countdown to a congress.
Preparations for the COP31 climate summit, set to be held in Antalya on Nov. 9-20, are fueling controversy over costs, procurement methods and forced land seizures.
A sweeping operation targeting illegal online gambling and money laundering networks led to the detention of 128 people across 21 provinces on May 14, including polarizing media figure Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı and two senior executives from İş Bank, one of Turkey's largest private banks.
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.
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.
Bilal Erdoğan, son of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and chair of the İlim Yayma Foundation, visited Syria on May 14 alongside a senior AKP delegation that included Deputy Chair and Head of Foreign Relations Zafer Sırakaya, parliamentary group deputy chair Abdulhamit Gül, and Gaziantep Mayor Fatma Şahin.