TRUMP-ERDOĞAN BROMANCE DEEPER THIS TIME AROUND
Bilateral ties with the United States have seen many ups and downs. Currently, the Turkish-US relationship is going through one of those up periods, according to a high-level Turkish official.
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FIDAN MEETS PUTIN IN RUSSIA AHEAD OF NATO’S ANKARA SUMMIT
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.
BELGIAN QUEEN MATHILDE TO SKIP ANKARA, MEET ERDOGAN IN ISTANBUL
Queen Mathilde is leading the Belgian Economic Mission to Turkey to bolster bilateral ties — but she will not be traveling to the capital, Ankara.
ERDOĞAN PUSHES FOR DEFENSE TIES AS MACRON FOCUSES ON UKRAINE SECURITY
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone call on Aug. 21, their first direct contact since the NATO summit in June. The two leaders discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine, the crisis in Gaza, and bilateral cooperation, with Erdoğan again stressing Ankara’s interest in deepening defense ties with France. Both later shared posts on X, tagging each other in messages that underlined common concerns but also revealed different priorities. On bilateral ties, Erdoğan said Turkey valued closer cooperation with France, particularly in the defense industry, and wanted to keep advancing relations across multiple fields. Ankara has long sought approval from Paris to procure European air-defense systems. A green light for the sale of Eurosam GIE’s SAMP/T could accelerate Turkey’s plan to build its own missile shield, described as a “steel dome,” within two to three years.
CHANGE OR CONTINUITY IN TURKISH-GREEK RELATIONS?
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s upcoming visit to Athens comes at a moment of some confusion about Turkey’s relations with Greece. The status of bilateral ties came under scrutiny after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece on the sidelines of annual UN summit in New York in September.