ARMENIA TO HOLD INDEPENDENCE DAY RECEPTION AFTER A DECADE
Armenia will host its 35th Independence Day reception in Istanbul on Oct. 14. The event marks a rare diplomatic event in Turkey as the two neighbors work to normalize long-strained ties.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
İŞBANK CEO WARNS OF DEEPENING CREDIT CRUNCH
Hakan Aran, the CEO of Turkey's largest private bank, İşBank, has warned that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face severe difficulties accessing credit, predicting a highly strained second half for 2026.
COURT LIFTS PENSION RESTRICTIONS FOR ISTANBUL MUNICIPALITY DEFENDANTS
Hundreds of defendants in the Istanbul Municipality trial can collect pensions, easing the financial strain many have suffered since the start of pretrial detentions in March 2025.
TRUMP’S BOARD OF PEACE MAY HAVE FATAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TURKEY
This year’s Munich Security Conference (MSC) held lively discussions on the global security environment, especially in Europe, and the collapse of the rules-based international order. Strained transatlantic relations, the Ukrainian War, and Iran, all burning matters for Turkey, were on the agenda. Figures such as Marco Rubio, Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy reached global audiences from the MSC. Turkey was not heard.
FASTER INFLATION AND WIDER CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT THREATEN ŞİMŞEK’S PLAN
Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek warned investors to expect a worsening in the country’s current account and the central bank said it expects faster inflation as strain grows on the government’s economic plans.
TURKISH OPPOSITION VICTORY SHAKEN AS CHP CHAIR’S IMAGE TAKES A HIT, DOMINO FEARS GROW
The Turkish main opposition, the CHP, has been shaken by the resignation of Ankara’s Keçiören Mayor Mesut Özarslan, who is expected to join the ruling AKP soon. The move has added to growing signs that the CHP’s post-election momentum is under strain, compounded by profane WhatsApp messages sent by party Chair Özgür Özel shortly before the resignation was announced and later leaked online.
SYRIA SHIFT PUTS TURKEY’S PEACE PROCESS UNDER PRESSURE
Turkey joined Damascus, welcoming the victory of Syrian government forces and the defeat of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which further strained the ongoing peace process. Tensions in the political arena rose after a Turkish flag was brought down during the DEM Party’s group meeting in the border town of Nusaybin, neighboring Qamishli. The name of the person who brought down the Turkish flag was not shared by the government, but an investigation was launched, while the DEM Party described the incident as a provocation, recalling similar instances from the past.
SHADOW OF SYRIA OVER TURKEY’S PEACE PROCESS
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.
TURKEY HIGHLIGHTS ROLE IN SUWEIDA CEASEFIRE AMID REGIONAL TENSIONS
Despite strained ties with Israel following the October 7 attacks, Turkey has emphasized its key role in brokering a ceasefire in Syria’s Suweida province, where fighting between Israel-backed Druze groups and Bedouin Arab tribes had escalated to involve regime forces.