ISOT DIPLOMACY: WHY STATES KEEP ASKING FOR “A BIT MORE HEAT?”
There are nations that approach foreign policy the way sensible adults approach dinner: they taste, they adjust, they stop before their eyes start watering in public.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
TURKEY’S HALF-HEARTED ENDORSEMENT OF TRUMP’S BOARD OF PEACE INITIATIVE
One would expect the bromance between U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to reach new heights following the former’s recent disavowal of the PKK/YPG.
DEFENSE MINISTRY URGES SDF TO INTEGRATE, PLEDGES CONTINUED SUPPORT TO DAMASCUS
The Defense Ministry urged the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate with the central government and pledged sustained support for the Damascus administration.
WHY TURKEY IS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE-INCOME TRAP
At the turn of the year, a familiar ritual repeats itself in Turkey. Gyms raise their membership fees. Tradespeople adjust their prices. Real estate agents pocket higher commissions by systematically pushing up sale prices. Hardly anyone objects. Hardly anyone asks what added value is being offered. Price hikes are taken for granted — not because products have improved, but because inflation exists.
MKE DELIVERS MK-82 BOMBS TO BURKINA FASO
The Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE) has begun delivering MK-82 general-purpose bombs to Burkina Faso Armed Forces.
EUROFIGHTER PROCUREMENT NEARING CONCLUSION
Turkey is close to finalizing a major expansion of its fighter jet fleet with the acquisition of Eurofighter Typhoons, marking a significant step toward diversifying its air power away from U.S.-supplied platforms.
PRO-GOVERNMENT JOURNALISTS WARN OF DIGITAL THREAT
After opposition media outlets closed one after another amid economic hardship, driven by changing policies of digital platforms — especially Google — prominent figures in pro-government media began voicing similar concerns.
TÜSİAD ELECTS OZAN DIREN AS NEW CHAIR
Turkey’s top business association, TÜSİAD, elected Ozan Diren as its new chair at its ordinary general assembly in Istanbul. Diren, the sole candidate, will serve for the 2026–2027 term. He succeeds Orhan Turan, who completed two terms in office.
SYRIA OUTLOOK OF ANKARA: FORCE NEEDED TO DRIVE NEGOTIATIONS
As negotiations between Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stalled following the loss of two Aleppo neighborhoods from its control, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the Syrian government would take steps to exercise its sovereign right to ensure unity and order within the country if needed.
EMEKLİ/RETIRED
In Turkish, emekli / retired is supposed to be a word of closure. It comes from emek: labor, effort, the long arc of work, and implies that something has been duly completed. You have labored; therefore, you may withdraw.
SHADOW OF SYRIA OVER TURKEY’S PEACE PROCESS
Following the PKK’s decision to lay down arms, the newly launched “peace process” has become tangled up in tensions over Syria. The military operation by the Damascus regime that pushed the SDF/YPG out of two Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo has strained relations between the AKP–MHP alliance and the DEM Party, ending a cautious rapprochement as part of the process. It has also disrupted a positive atmosphere that had lasted for nearly a year, raising fresh doubts about the prospects of success.
WHEN ALLIANCES CRACK, TURKEY LOOKS ELSEWHERE
What happens if Donald Trump were to send Delta Force to “get” Greenland? Would it be the end of NATO, as Denmark’s prime minister suggested? While the validity of NATO’s Article 5 is questioned, allies feel they can no longer rely on U.S. nuclear protection. In times of great power competition mid-size regional powers tend to forge alliances to consolidate their security.