Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
If Cyprus were a film, it would probably be The Truman Show. Not because anything dramatic is happening, quite the opposite. The genius of The Truman Show is that nothing seems to be happening at all.
The deal to resolve the case over allegations that Halkbank helped Iran evade American sanctions was announced on March 9, at the height of U.S.-Israeli attacks against Iran.
After the completion of the Parliamentary Commission report on the Kurdish peace process, legal steps are expected to accelerate after the Ramadan holiday, which ends on March 22 and overlaps with Newroz, the spring festival seen as a symbol of Kurdish identity.
In response to the reinforcement of defense in Southern Cyprus by Greece and some European countries due to the Iran conflict, Turkey deployed F-16 fighter jets and additional air defense systems to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) for the first time in 28 years.
Iran destroyed U.S. long-range radar installations in Qatar and Jordan on Feb. 28 and March 7, increasing the importance of the Kürecik AN/TPY-2 radar station in Malatya province. Like the Adana İncirlik Air Base, NATO has placed the Malatya Kürecik Radar Station under the protection of its Patriot air defense system, another possible target for ballistic missiles launched from Iran.
NATO announced that its assets shot down two ballistic missiles aimed at Turkey in a week, but Iran denied that they had targeted Turkey. Since the Defense Ministry and NATO did not provide information on which region of Iran the ballistic missiles were launched from, the route taken by the missiles and their target became a matter of debate.
Turkey has withdrawn civilian administrative units from the Operation Olive Branch zone in northern Syria after seven years of activity, according to a statement by Şanlıurfa Governor Hasan Şıldak. The announcement prompted questions regarding the withdrawal of Turkish armed forces from the area.
Jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has for the first time objected to the possibility of another person becoming the opposition’s presidential candidate.
Gendarmes arrested CHP’s Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan March 2, just as the party was bracing for the trial on corruption allegations concerning the Istanbul Municipality.
Parliament will take up legislation in response to the PKK’s decision to dissolve and lay down its arms agenda after the Ramadan holiday. PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan has called for the adoption of “peace laws” as a condition for transition. While the DEM Party insists that the legal framework should be adopted before the end of March, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has pointed to April, saying he expects the PKK to take more concrete steps.
Jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has for the first time objected to the possibility of another person becoming the opposition’s presidential candidate.
Turkey has reintroduced the “sliding scale mechanism” to prevent dramatic pump hikes from feeding inflation after the Iranian War pushed global oil prices higher.