Latest Articles about Turkey
TURKEY PONDERS RUSSIAN MISSILE OFFER
As Turkey moves to upgrade its weapons systems, Ankara is considering all options and possible suppliers, including Moscow. The value of such runs into billions of dollars, generating intense competition, particularly over contracts to supply Turkey with an advanced surface-to-air missile system, with potential capabilities... MORE
A HAWK AND A DOVE SHARE THE DTP LEADERSHIP
On July 20, the embattled pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) elected Ahmet Turk (born 1944) and Emine Ayna (born 1968) as its co-chairs during a party congress in Ankara. As the Turkish Political Parties law does not provide for the sharing of the leadership of... MORE
TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER HOSTS HEADS OF MISSION CONFERENCE IN ANKARA
From July 15 to 18 more than 200 Turkish diplomats, including 103 of the country’s ambassadors and heads of missions serving in different countries around the world, met in Ankara to discuss Turkey’s short and long-term foreign policy goals. The unprecedented gathering of virtually all... MORE
ERGENEKON INDICTMENT DEEPENS DIVISIONS IN TURKISH POLITICS
Turkish prosecutors investigating the Ergenekon network finally submitted their indictment to the court on July 14. The indictment was presented a year after the network was first discovered and many influential figures including retired army generals, journalists, businessmen and academics were arrested or interrogated as... MORE
TOWARD A NEW ERA IN TURKISH-IRAQI RELATIONS?
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent visit to Iraq has initiated a new chapter in bilateral relations. Several problems, including the Kurdish question, the Iraq-Iran war, and Turkey's support of the U.S.-led international coalition during the first Gulf War in 1991, have made relations... MORE
TURKEY’S GAP PROJECT: A MIXED BLESSING FOR COUNTRY AND ITS NEIGHBORS
Stressing how political and economic policies are interrelated, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said on July 15 that economic goals were as important as political objectives (Anadolu Ajansi, July 15). Nowhere is this more evident and important than Turkey’s multi-billion dollar Guneydogu Anadolu Projesi (Southeastern... MORE
TURKEY REVERSES COURSE AND JOINS FRENCH-LED TALKS ON MEDITERRANEAN UNION
French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s goal of reasserting French influence in international affairs took a new turn with the ascendance of France to the EU presidency. Shortly after assuming the rotating presidency of the EU, France launched, through a spectacular gathering of 44 countries, a project... MORE
ABDULLATIF SENER: A DIVISIVE FACTOR OR THE NEW POLITICAL LEADER OF TURKEY?
As the decision of the Constitutional Court on whether the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) should be shut down gets closer, new political figures have started forming alternatives. The expectation that the constitutional court will shut down the AKP has led various politicians to... MORE
ERDOGAN PAYS FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO IRAQ
On July 10 Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Baghdad in the first official visit to Iraq by a Turkish head of government since 1990 and only the second by a regional leader since the U.S. invasion and occupation of the country in... MORE
INITIAL EVIDENCE SUGGESTS HOMEGROWN ORIGIN FOR ATTACK ON U.S. CONSULATE
The initial evidence suggests that the deadly assault on the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul on July 9 was the work of a small group of homegrown Islamist extremists, who planned and carried out the attack on their own. Eye witnesses reported that at around... MORE