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WHAT DOES ALİ BABACAN WANT TO DO?
Portrait of the Week May 29, 2026

WHAT DOES ALİ BABACAN WANT TO DO?

In a political climate marked by constant clashes and shifting agendas — sometimes several in a single day — how did Ali Babacan manage to stand out? He attended both the opening of Parliament and the Republic Day reception, posing for photographs with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Suddenly, all eyes were on him. “Is he returning to his old party?” people asked. Some even claimed he was poised to become a minister again. He firmly denied those claims. Yet when similar criticism came from the CHP, he shot back sharply: “Come off it.”

Anonymous
COMMISSION PREPARES TO DRAFT BILLS AS ERDOĞAN HOSTS İMRALI DELEGATION
Deep Dive May 29, 2026

COMMISSION PREPARES TO DRAFT BILLS AS ERDOĞAN HOSTS İMRALI DELEGATION

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted the DEM Party’s İmralı delegation, as the parliamentary commission listened to Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç for the first time since the PKK announced that all its forces in Turkey had begun withdrawing to northern Iraq.

Editorial Team
ERDOĞAN SIGNALS NEW PHASE IN KURDISH ISSUE AS CHP SKIPS PARLIAMENT OPENING
Deep Dive May 29, 2026

ERDOĞAN SIGNALS NEW PHASE IN KURDISH ISSUE AS CHP SKIPS PARLIAMENT OPENING

The new legislative year of the Turkish Parliament opened without the CHP, which boycotted the session in protest at President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the ongoing crackdown—starting debate over parliamentary legitimacy. Erdoğan swiftly countered the criticism, declaring that “legitimacy comes from the people.” He followed his remarks with a symbolic gesture: shaking hands with all parliamentary group leaders, including first-time photo-ops after many years with the heads of AKP offshoots DEVA and the Gelecek Party. Notably, Erdoğan coolly used his address to tell the pro-Kurdish DEM Party that the next phase on the Kurdish issue will be implementation. Praising the work of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission for holding 12 meetings so far with broad participation from political parties, Erdoğan said, “Once the commission completes its work, we will undoubtedly have very important findings in hand. The next phase will be the implementation of the proposals raised within the commission, as a result of consultation and consensus.”

Editorial Team
HALKI EMERGES AGAIN AS A TEST OF TURKEY’S RELIGIOUS POLITICS
Foreign Affairs May 15, 2026

HALKI EMERGES AGAIN AS A TEST OF TURKEY’S RELIGIOUS POLITICS

A historic sanatorium on Heybeliada — the island also known as Halki — is set to be transferred to the Directorate of Religious Affairs for the second time, after a previous transfer was annulled by a court. The move comes as the same island is at the center of another religious question: the possible reopening of the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary.

Editorial Team
NEPOTISM, OR HOW TO DISMANTLE A FOREIGN MINISTRY
The Third Desk Apr 17, 2026

NEPOTISM, OR HOW TO DISMANTLE A FOREIGN MINISTRY

Each time political appointments in diplomacy are criticised in Turkey, the same defence appears with the reliability of a reflex: “Other countries do it too”. Perhaps they do. But mediocrity does not become wisdom once imported.

Editorial Team
DEM PUSHES FOR A NEW STATUS AND HOME FOR ÖCALAN
Inside Turkey Apr 2, 2026

DEM PUSHES FOR A NEW STATUS AND HOME FOR ÖCALAN

The DEM Party is pushing the government to take legal steps to clarify PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan’s status, including the allocation of a house on İmralı Island, yet the government is buying time without providing clarity on the transition law.

Editorial Team
U.S.-MADE USV WASHES ASHORE ON BLACK SEA COAST
Security and Defense Mar 26, 2026

U.S.-MADE USV WASHES ASHORE ON BLACK SEA COAST

An unmanned surface vessel manufactured in the U.S. was found washed ashore in the Ünye district of Ordu, on the Black Sea coast, on March 21. An unmanned surface vessel (USV) of unknown origin struck the Altura, a Sierra Leone flagged tanker which is owned by a Turkish company, Pergamon Maritime, on March 26 in the Black Sea, 15 miles off the coast of the Bosphorus Strait.

Editorial Team
F-16S AND AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS TO NORTHERN CYPRUS
Security and Defense Mar 12, 2026

F-16S AND AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS TO NORTHERN CYPRUS

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.

Editorial Team