Turkey has reorganized its counter-terrorist institutions in order to enhance its overall strategy, reflecting the changes within the international security climate. The Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek revealed plans to establish a new organization responsible for implementing an effective counter terrorism strategy. This organization will... MORE

In last week's bloodbath at an engagement party, masked gunmen armed with assault rifles killed 44 people including the bride and the groom in a small village in Turkey's southeastern province Mardin. As the country debated the causes of this carnage, attention shifted to an... MORE

On May 2 Professor Ahmet Davutoglu (50) was appointed as Turkey's Foreign Minister, replacing Ali Babacan (42). Davutoglu had been the "behind the scenes" figure instrumental in devising what is termed as the pro-active and multi faceted foreign policy of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development... MORE

The recent uncertainty surrounding Turkish-Azeri relations is giving way to a new period of optimism, ahead of high level diplomatic contacts. Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Azeri officials in a bid to reassure Baku of Ankara's intention to... MORE

Moqtada al-Sadr, the most prominent Shi'ite opponent of the United States' military presence in Iraq, paid an official visit to Turkey for talks on the political situation in neighboring Iraq. This was al-Sadr's first public appearance since 2007. The Turkish media reported that Ankara had... MORE

On May 1, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced major revisions in his cabinet. While some ministers retained their posts, eight were removed and nine new members were brought into the cabinet, with another seven assigned to different positions (Today's Zaman, May 2). The... MORE

Most Azerbaijani politicians as well as the general public believe that the recent developments in Turkey's bilateral relationship with Armenia were aimed only at influencing Barack Obama's April 24 statement. Supposedly, Turkey wanted to provide a reason for Obama to avoid using the word "genocide"... MORE

On April 27, Turkey and Syria launched their first joint military exercise on their border. The three-day long land exercises between border forces involved an exchange of units to enhance joint training and interoperability, and are expected to be followed by similar exercises in the... MORE

Norway's StatoilHydro company, commercial operator of the gas export pipeline from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field, has publicly identified Turkey as stalling on the transit agreement for Shah Deniz gas to Europe. StatoilHydro's latest statements corroborate the concerns of European and Azerbaijani officials on this issue... MORE

On April 27, Police in Istanbul conducted operations on 60 different addresses, targeting the newly emerged militant organization Devrimci Karargah (DK) (Revolutionary Base). The police detained 40 suspects. At one address they exchanged gunfire with a militant for over six-hours. During the operation, the militant... MORE