Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
The first bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister yields deals on defense, energy and air transport as Ottawa seeks to reduce its reliance on the US and makes a sharp U-turn toward finding alternative partners.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan completed a two-day visit to Syria, where he discussed preparations for a visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Damascus.
Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief İbrahim Kalın made a visit to Athens on Aug. 28, meeting his Greek counterpart Themistoklis Demiris, head of the National Intelligence Service (EYP), at its headquarters, and the trip was publicized to media with a week delay, as a rare example.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan traveled to Libya on Aug. 11 and 12, visiting both Tripoli and Benghazi, in what appears to be the first time a Turkish foreign minister has made a simultaneous visit to meet competing sides in the Libyan conflict.
A live signing ceremony crowning Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi's visit to Ankara was disrupted when a Development Road agreement went unsigned, prompting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to intervene on camera and Al Zaidi to confront his own transport minister.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres' July 27-29 visit to Cyprus produced no concrete resolution plan or new timetable. Ankara welcomed efforts with caution and Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay headed to Northern Cyprus after the talks.
António Guterres will arrive in Cyprus at the end of July, carrying another possibility of peace to an island familiar with such visits. Cyprus diplomacy sometimes resembles Buñuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. The guests assemble, the table is laid, and dinner is indefinitely postponed.
The US has started the process of removing Syria's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, which it has held since 1979 — a win for Turkey and for visiting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
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.
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.
After the toppling of Nicolás Maduro by the United States, Delcy Rodríguez, who was installed as Venezuela’s interim president, paid her fourth abroad visit to Turkey on June 8.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, known for his intensive diplomacy and negotiation efforts on Middle East cases, particularly Syria, has embarked for the first time since taking office on a lengthy Asia-Pacific tour, visiting four countries in succession.