Latest Articles about Turkey

Moscow and Tehran Dramatically Expanding Economic and Security Cooperation
Among the most important developments since the end of last year’s fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been the dramatic expansion in consultations and cooperation between Russia and Iran. This development reflects their common opposition to border changes, shared concern about the expansion of Turkish... MORE

Leader-Oriented Relations Between Russia and Turkey in Times of Pandemic
At the end of April, Minister Fahrettin Koca announced that the Ministry of Health had granted emergency use authorization in Turkey to Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine (Anadolu Agency, April 30). Sputnik V became the third vaccine to receive such approval, after China’s Sinovac and the Pfizer-BioNTech... MORE

Maximum Pressure: Turkey’s Anti-PKK Counter-Terrorism Campaigns in Northern Iraq
In late April, the Turkish military launched a large-scale cross-border counter-terrorism campaign into northern Iraq, targeting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its network. The push into northern Iraq followed two main axes: Operation Claw-Lightning and Operation Claw-Thunderbolt (Pençe-Şimşek and Pençe-Yıldırım). Thus far, the counter-terrorism... MORE

Abu Walaa’s Islamic State Network and Germany’s Counter-Terrorism Prosecutions
A German court sentenced on February 24 the alleged “Islamic State leader of Germany” to a lengthy prison sentence. The trial against Salafist preacher Ahmad Abdelaziz Abdullah Abdullah, better known as Abu Walaa, lasted three-and-a-half-years and provides insights into radicalization and Islamic State (IS) recruitment... MORE

‘Canal War’ Breaking Out in Greater Caspian Region
Turkey’s plan to build a canal bypassing the Bosporus Strait and potentially upsetting the Montreux Convention (see EDM, February 9) along with Russia’s movement of warships from the Caspian to the Sea of Azov via the Volga–Don Canal in order to threaten Ukraine (see EDM,... MORE

Azerbaijan Feels Pressure to Join Moscow-Dominated Eurasian Economic Union
The next meeting of the Intergovernmental Council of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) will be held in the central Russian city of Kazan, on April 29–30 (TASS, March 17). A key agenda item for the EEU member states may reportedly be to discuss the... MORE

International Involvement in Infrastructure Projects in Azerbaijan’s Newly Regained Territories
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced earlier this year that a number of large infrastructure projects had been launched in the territories liberated from Armenian occupation as a result of the 2020 Second Karabakh War. Importantly, he added that friendly countries and partners would be involved... MORE

Iran and Tajikistan Announce Formation of Joint Military Committee
Major General Mohammad Baqeri, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, and Colonel General Sherali Mirzo, the defense minister of Tajikistan, met last week (April 6 and 8) in Tehran, where they inter alia signed an agreement on creating a joint military defense... MORE

Azerbaijan Embarks on Construction of Nakhchivan Railway (Part Two)
*To read part one, please click here The unblocking of the Zangezur corridor will have wide-ranging geopolitical reverberations for both the directly concerned states, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and surrounding countries. For Azerbaijan, the reopening of the corridor has geostrategic significance in multiple domains. This route... MORE

Russia and Syrian Arab Army Targeting Turkish-Backed Opposition’s Energy Infrastructure
The local Russian Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno Kosmicheskikh Sil—VKS) contingent and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) have shifted their operational focus to targeting energy infrastructure in northwest Syria, including in areas that fall under de facto Turkish control. These offensives have notably involved ballistic missile strikes... MORE