Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
South Cyprus is seeking large-scale military support from both the United States and the European Union, while expanding defense cooperation with Israel, in a move raising concerns in Ankara and Northern Cyprus.
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said that the United States is close to lifting restrictions imposed on Turkey since 2017 after Turkey purchased S-400 systems from Russia. However, the conditions under which the sanctions will be lifted remain unclear.
“Israel can claim it is a democracy … but in this region, whether you like it or not, what has worked best is a benevolent monarchy,” said Tom Barrack, speaking at the Doha Forum in the first week of December.
The newly released U.S. Strategic Security paper signals the most significant shift in American grand strategy since the end of the Second World War. Its defining features are the explicit identification of China as a peer competitor, the reaffirmation of Russia as a principal adversary, and—perhaps most striking—the retreat from the ideological mission that once sustained “the West” as a political and civilizational project.
Ukrainian naval drones struck two ships alleged to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast, increasing tension in the shared sea even as the combatants pursue renewed peace talks. The Sea Baby drones hit the oil tankers MT Kairos and MT Virat on Nov. 28. Russia has used hundreds of tankers known as the “shadow fleet” to evade Western sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine, delivering millions of barrels of oil to buyers in breach of those restrictions.
When Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy landed in Ankara on Nov. 19, press reports had already started to make the headlines, revealing details of a peace plan drafted by the U.S. and Russia.
In early November 2025, two gatherings revealed the evolving architecture of Eurasian energy and resource corridors: the “3+1” Energy Ministerial in Athens, bringing together Greece, Cyprus, Israel, and the United States, and the C5+1 Summit in Washington between the United States and the five Central Asian republics—Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
The CAATSA sanctions imposed by the U.S. for the past six years have also negatively impacted Turkey's aircraft carrier projects.Originally designed to deploy F-35Bs, the first ship named TCG Anadolu was converted into an unmanned aerial vehicle carrier when aircraft could not be procured from the U.S.
Trumpeting that Turkey is on the way to making its fighter jet Kaan, Turkey faced the reality that it was impossible to produce them by 2028, the expected election year, as promised to the public. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan acknowledged that the future of the project depends on the U.S. Congress and U.S. CAATSA sanctions imposed on Turkey. Fidan’s goals and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s knowledge of the situation topped the agenda.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan removed additional tariffs on certain U.S.-made products, including automobiles, ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. The Presidential Decree was published in the Official Gazette, saying that no additional taxes will be imposed on imports of U.S.-origin products such as passenger cars, cosmetics and skin care products, leaf tobacco, and alcoholic beverages.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shows no interest in MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli's proposal that Turkey, Russia, and China (TRÇ) should form an alliance against the U.S.-Israel coalition.
Three different remarks increased the tension prior to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s meeting with the U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. During an interview with FOX TV, Erdoğan challenged Trump’s main motto that he ended seven wars.