On July 14 Turkey signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran related to gas and oil transit and joint energy investments. Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler and a team of officials are currently in Tehran meeting with Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, international affairs director of the state-owned... MORE

The Nationalist Action Party (MHP), with 70 seats in the new Turkish parliament, has indicated that it has no serious objection to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, becoming president (Today’s Zaman, August 2). The party is expected to... MORE

Tuesday’s announcement of the re-nomination of Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul for the post of president of Turkey puts the nation’s fiercely secularist military only one step away from reporting to an Islamist politician. Yet the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) must still see... MORE

On August 13, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) opted for confrontation rather than conciliation by announcing that Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will be its candidate in Turkey’s forthcoming presidential election (NTV, CNNTurk, August 13). The announcement put an end to weeks of speculation... MORE

The Turkish government has reiterated its determination to press ahead with massive investment in the Iranian energy sector, despite U.S. opposition. On August 12 Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler announced that Turkey was determined to implement the terms of a memorandum of understanding signed with... MORE

On Tuesday, August 7, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” (MoU) between Iraq and Turkey. The memorandum does not commit Baghdad to take many of the concrete actions against the Iraq-based Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) forces that Turkey wanted (Today’s Zaman,... MORE

The Turkish media have targeted Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani following the failure of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Kamel al-Maliki to agree to take concrete measures against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) during his August 7 visit to Ankara. Prior to al-Maliki’s arrival in Turkey, the... MORE

The results of the Turkish general election of July 22 suggest that Turkey’s Kurdish minority is looking increasingly to Islam rather than the secular nationalism of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) is generally regarded by both its opponents and... MORE

On August 4, the Turkish military officially announced the expulsion of ten serving officers for alleged Islamic fundamentalist activities. The announcement came one day after the end of a three-day meeting of the Supreme Military Council (YAS), which traditionally meets at the beginning of August... MORE