The December 10 sinking of an overcrowded boat carrying illegal migrants from Turkey to Greece has highlighted Turkey’s increasing importance as a transit point for illegal migrants seeking to gain entry to the countries of the EU. The issue has begun to strain Turkey’s relations... MORE

General Yasar Buyukanit, the chief of the Turkish General Staff (TGS), yesterday (December 11) admitted that Turkey was losing the psychological war against Kurdish separatism. Buyukanit was speaking at a symposium in Ankara organized by the Strategic Research and Studies Center (SAREM), a think tank... MORE

Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s choice of a conservative as the new head of the Higher Education Council (YOK), which oversees university education in Turkey, has reinforced Turkish secularist fears and raised concerns about the possibility of renewed tensions over the role of Islam in public... MORE

The recent U.S. National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report suggesting that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 has eased the pressure on Turkey over its growing economic ties with Iran. Since the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in November... MORE

Yesterday (December 6) Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan concluded a two-day visit to Greece in a sign of a continuing rapprochement between the two neighbors. However, although the recent improvement in ties has undoubtedly considerably reduced the possibility of the two countries going to war,... MORE

Turkey has stepped up its efforts to secure as much as possible of its defense procurement requirements from local manufacturers. Turkey has long regarded the development of an indigenous defense industry as a strategic priority. Few in the Turkish military have forgotten the U.S. arms... MORE

Evidence presented to the court during the trial of five youths accused of killing three Christians in the southeastern town of Malatya earlier this year have raised questions about the involvement of state officials in the murder. On April 18, the five are alleged to... MORE

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will target Kurdish voters in the run-up to the March 2009 local elections, AKP Deputy Chairman Hayati Yazici has announced. Yazici said that the AKP had set its sights on taking control of the municipality in Diyarbakir, the... MORE

The proportion of Turkish women who cover their heads has risen by more than five percentage points over the last four years, according to a survey by the Konda research company and published in the daily newspaper Milliyet. The survey, which was conducted on September... MORE

With the November 21 launch of the long-stalled Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railroad project that will link Azerbaijan and Georgia with Turkey, Ankara has made headway toward its goal of creating an economic zone in the Caucasus. But there are still obstacles to overcome before making that... MORE