Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Turkey wants the modernization of its Customs Union with the European Union — off the agenda for years — to be part of the equation as diplomatic traffic on the Cyprus issue accelerates, more than three European diplomats confirmed to Turkey in Depth.
Three retired Turkish diplomats have publicly voiced their support for Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ahead of the country's parliamentary elections scheduled for early June, following a joint visit to Yerevan.
Despite weeks of public speculation, four senior diplomats based in Ankara tell Turkey in Depth that the question of US President Donald Trump's non-attendance of the NATO summit is off the table and preparations are well underway.
The word of the week is “ihtiyatlı iyimserlik,” literally, “cautious optimism.” A staple of diplomatic jargon, the phrase allows diplomats, speechwriters, and strategists to sound hopeful without making any actual commitment. Last week alone, the term was trotted out as a reaction to the latest Damascus-SDF agreement, the ever-elusive prospect of a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire, and Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s pledge to establish an independent commission to bring those responsible for civilian killings in Latakia and Tartus to justice. And, yes, we are also cautiously optimistic about PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan’s calls to dissolve PKK and lay down arms, too.
When Hakan Fidan met the new recruits who passed the Foreign Ministry’s examinations in February, he told them not to marry foreigners. He has made his objections known since the first day he came to office in June 2023, complaining that the rate of Turkish diplomats married to a foreign national had reached 20 percent. He also made clear that while those already married to foreigners would not be discriminated against, from now on those who would marry foreigners would not be appointed to critical positions.