Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Ebru Eroğlu, one of five lieutenants expelled from the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) on the grounds of insubordination for raising their swords in the air and chanting the slogan “We are Mustafa Kemal’s soldiers” during the Military Academy’s swearing-in ceremony on August 30, 2024, lost the lawsuit to return to the military she filed against the Defense Ministry.
Turkish defense and software company HAVELSAN said its Flight Training Device Level 2 simulator for Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft has received FNPT II MCC and FTD Level 2 certification, making it the first platform produced and certified at this level in Turkey.
On Feb. 23, four separate courts in Istanbul and Ankara heard cases involving the CHP congress, corruption claims by businessperson and confessor Aziz İhsan Aktaş, accusations about its provincial chair, and the trial of a party bus driver.
The Air Force, which has been unable to procure new fighter jets for over 20 years because of foreign policy obstacles, lost another fighter jet on Feb. 25, reducing the number of F-16s in its inventory to 233. Thus, the number of fighter jets in active service fell from approximately 450 to 252 over the same period.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met in Ankara on the 30th anniversary of the Kardak (Imia) crisis, serving as a reminder that the fundamental disagreements that nearly brought the two NATO allies to war 30 years ago remain unresolved.
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.
Turkey is seeking to position itself as a mediator between the United States and Iran as threats of attacks rise and diplomatic engagement intensifies, with the Turkish foreign minister set to host his Iranian counterpart in Istanbul on Jan. 30.
The engines of the plane carrying Libya’s top military officials, including Chief of General Staff General Muhammad Ali Al-Haddad, were still running when it crashed near Ankara on Dec. 23, 2025, killing all on board, according to findings of a preliminary investigation.
France, Britain and Ukraine signed a joint “statement of intent” after a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris, where nearly 30 Western leaders gathered. According to the statement, Britain and France will deploy troops to Ukraine in case of a peace agreement with Russia. Turkey is envisaged to take the lead in maritime security elements in the Black Sea.
Power cuts during a winter cold snap have disrupted life in Hatay, a province still recovering from the twin earthquakes of February 2023.
Overseas shopping got more expensive after new regulations ended the customs exemption for individual purchases of less than €30.
Ankara wants to sell Japan the ANKA UCAVs produced by TAI and Baykar’s Bayraktar TB2 and TB3 UCAVs.