Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
The word of the week is şatafat, and Ankara supplied the visual aid. At the NATO summit, Turkey received its guests with the full vocabulary of Erdoğan-era grandeur: mehter music, ceremonial guards, a turquoise carpet that seemed designed less for walking than for being recorded, and the Erdoğan couple standing before the vast Presidential Complex, its doors polished to a shine usually reserved for furniture showrooms. There was also the choreography.
US President Donald Trump will arrive in Ankara at around 2 p.m. on July 7. Although more than a thousand people will accompany him, his wife Melania will be absent, Turkey in Depth has learned.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has signaled that the long-awaited framework bill aimed at ending the PKK's decades-long armed struggle will be submitted to parliament soon.
The upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara, scheduled for July 7-8 at the Beştepe Presidential Complex, arrives at a moment of growing tension within the alliance driven largely by the Trump administration’s transactional approach to collective defense.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made a high-profile, two-day visit to Russia, sitting directly across from President Vladimir Putin to signal stable bilateral ties amid speculation that Turkey was distancing itself from Moscow.
After the toppling of Nicolás Maduro by the United States, Delcy Rodríguez, who was installed as Venezuela’s interim president, paid her fourth abroad visit to Turkey on June 8.
Questions about the future of Turkey-Armenia normalization have grown after Turkish Foreign Ministry removed key wording from its statement on Armenian elections, putting pressure on Armenia rather than also pushing Azerbaijan and it took President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan four days to congratulate the Armenian prime minister on his election win.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is set to inaugurate Ankara's newly overhauled Etimesgut airfield on June 15, just weeks before the NATO Leaders Summit. But whether Air Force One can use it — particularly for takeoff — may depend on which way US President Donald Trump is headed.
MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli’s call to grant the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan a title involving the word “peace” drew support from the DEM Party and sharp criticism from the right-wing opposition, as all eyes turned to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
An upcoming presidential election for the Istanbul soccer club Fenerbahçe on June 6-7, has again highlighted the ties between football and politics. The leadership of Fenerbahçe is widely seen as a position of significant influence, not just a sporting role.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has fueled hope for progress in the Kurdish process but his stance doesn’t amount to real movement, according to the DEM Party. Soon after dismissing claims of a deadlock in the "Terror-Free Turkey" process as "noise" at the April 23 reception, Erdoğan reiterated that the process is advancing as intended and urged all actors to act responsibly during a turbulent regional period.
Fifteen more pre-trial defendants were released in the corruption case targeting the Istanbul Municipality, including Adem Soytekin, a businessperson who applied for leniency under Turkey's remorse law, as the war of words between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and main opposition CHP Chair Özgür Özel showed no signs of abating over the case.