On April 22, it was announced that two Turkish state-owned banks had stepped in to provide $750 million in loans to Calik Holding, which is owned by a close friend of Prime Minister RecepTayyip Erdogan, in order to enable it to purchase the second largest... MORE

Until a decade ago, Turkey’s interest in the Western hemisphere was focused almost exclusively on its relationship with the United States. Over the past 10 years, however, Ankara has grown increasingly interested in Central and Latin America, even though its trade with the region is... MORE

On April 17 the organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) held its 18th meeting of members’ foreign ministers in Kiev, Ukraine. The only countries to send their foreign ministers to the meeting, however, were Turkey and Ukraine. All of the other BSEC 10... MORE

On April 18 Tulay Tugcu, the former head of Turkey’s Constitutional Court, issued a statement refuting allegations that the Turkish military had pressured the court by threatening to stage a coup unless it annulled the results of the parliamentary vote to appoint the country’s next... MORE

On April 17 Turkey and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to increase cooperation on security issues. The agreement came during the 12th meeting of the Turkey-Iran High Security Commission, which began in Ankara on April 14 (see EDM, April 14). Although the details... MORE

Turks have recently been receiving an unexpected geography lesson as the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has stepped up its campaign to secure a seat on the UN Security Council when five places come up for election in October 2008. In recent weeks Turkish... MORE

On April 15 an Iranian delegation arrived in Turkey to finalize a security convention that has been in the planning stages for the last two to three years and for discussions on joint measures against Kurdish PKK and PJAK guerrillas based in northern Iraq. The... MORE

On April 14 Turkish Speaker of Parliament Koksal Toptan formally forwarded a draft amendment to Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code to the Parliamentary Justice Committee. This notorious article makes it an imprisonable offence to denigrate “Turkishness.” The hopes of the ruling Justice and... MORE

Turkey and Iran will look to boost security cooperation during the 12th meeting of the Turkey-Iran High Security Commission in Ankara on April 14-18. The agenda is expected to be dominated by discussions about cooperation against violent rebel Kurdish groups: the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),... MORE

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) members of Turkey’s Parliamentary Human Rights Committee have called for the establishment of a subcommittee to study the relationship between unemployment, poverty and radicalism in the predominantly Kurdish southeast of the country, including its role in recruitment to the Kurdistan... MORE