Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
More than one and a half years into US President Donald Trump’s second term, despite repeated positive messages from both sides regarding lifting the arms embargo on Turkey, neither Ankara nor Washington has taken steps to meet their commitments.
US Ambassador to Ankara Tom Barrack signaled that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Donald Trump “could” meet in New York during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.
The Trump administration has handed NATO allies a list of questions within the framework of an ongoing six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe.
The Defense Ministry has signed a contract with a lobbying firm headed by Brian Ballard, one of Trump’s leading fundraisers in Florida.
While Trump signals to lift the arms embargo on Turkey, experts are discussing whether it will come at the expense of the Kaan project.
Turkey was kicked out of the F-35 joint production program because of Russia during Trump’s presidency; can it be taken back because of Russia yet again during Trump’s presidency?
Paying an official visit to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of the NATO Summit and signaling movement on the F-35 and the Kaan's F110 engines, US President Donald Trump also touched on two subjects that sent a chill through Ankara: the release of American Pastor Andrew Brunson, and Turkey's stance in the US-Israeli war against Iran. Meant as praise, both stories cut deeper than they flattered.
Trump made ambiguous statements regarding the US delivery of F-35s to Turkey. Ankara, meanwhile, continues to seek a solution to the S-400 issue.
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.
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.
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.
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.