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

A recent opinion poll suggests that the closure case brought by Public Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has boosted Turkish public support for EU membership, particularly among AKP voters. A survey conducted by A&G Araştırma (A&G Research) found that... MORE

In a move certain to raise hackles in Washington, Iran and Turkey have agreed to connect their electrical power grids. According to an amendment to the Electricity Market Law submitted to parliament, Turkey’s isolated eastern and southern regions will be able to import electricity on... MORE

On April 7 the National Executive Committee of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) held a six-hour meeting to discuss the party’s response to the closure case filed with the country’s constitutional court by Public Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya (see EDM, April 1). Speaking after... MORE

General Yasar Buyukanit, the chief of the Turkish General Staff (TGS), has publicly warned that Turkey remains under threat from Islamism and Kurdish separatism, while attacking the EU over the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) and individual member states for their alleged support of... MORE