Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Seeking to capitalize on the rift in the NATO alliance between the U.S. and the EU, Ankara is seeking common ground with Europe through cooperation on military issues and the defense industry.
The planned meeting of the Turkish–Greek High-Level Cooperation Council (HLC) in Ankara on February 11 comes when the calm in relations between Ankara and Athens conceals numerous fragilities. That’s just one reason why the meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is unlikely to produce a breakthrough. Rather, the meeting aims to keep communication channels open while both sides pursue sharply divergent agendas in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
The planned meeting of the Turkish–Greek High-Level Cooperation Council (HLC) in Ankara Feb. 9–13 comes when the calm in relations between Ankara and Athens conceals numerous fragilities.
With the “Terror-Free Turkey” process on one hand and the row over operations targeting CHP-run municipalities on the other, it’s easy to forget that the country’s main problem is deepening poverty and social decay.
Turkey’s sweeping drug operations have expanded to include prominent figures from business and entertainment, triggering debate over whether the focus remains on organized crime kingpins or on well-known public personalities.
As Turkey prepares to purchase 12 second-hand Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets from Qatar, a series of defense industry cooperation agreements were signed between the two countries, further deepening bilateral relations.
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.
After Damascus launched a military operation against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the ruling AKP-MHP alliance linked the trajectory of Turkey’s peace process to developments in Syria.
A dangerous escalation has erupted between Damascus forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in two strategically important neighborhoods of Syria’s northern city of Aleppo. As clashes intensified, evacuation notices, issued Dec. 8. by Syria’s central government in the two key districts, have raised the possibility of a military operation. Simultaneously, the Defense Ministry said that Turkey would support an expected Syrian army operation in Aleppo “if requested.”
Amid renewed clashes between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led militia in Aleppo, the Turkish Defense Ministry said that the Turkish army would support the operation if Damascus requested assistance.
The drug-using operation that started with artists in October, then extended to sports, media, business and politics, continues with the unlawful sharing of private conversations and denials of drug use despite forensic reports. The names of some prosecutors, politicians and advisers appeared in the investigation early on, yet media coverage has so far remained silent about them.
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.