In recent weeks, talks between Türkiye, Syria, and the US have accelerated. The developments and statements suggest that certain shared understandings have been reached. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited Washington on 10 November and had “warm talks” with Trump. The Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan made a “surprise” visit to Washington and joined part of the al-Sharaa–Trump meeting. US Ambassador ...
Last week, at the top of the agenda were new developments and statements regarding the new initiative named as a “Terror-Free Türkiye” which includes the disarmament and dissolution of the PKK. Meanwhile, Türkiye continues to closely monitor developments in Syria. Critical remarks made last week by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on the issue were another major item on the agenda. ...
As always, Türkiye’s agenda is intense. The massacre of Alawite civilians in Syria topped the headlines. Many political parties and organizations including the main opposition party, Republican People’s Party (CHP), made statements about the incident. Meanwhile, the “democratic initiative” process launched by the coalition partner of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, unfolds ...
About two months passed since the fall of Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad. Türkiye is thought to be one of the key actors behind the march of the HTS forces through Damascus, the fall of Assad and now in formation of the new government. Still, Turkish government frequently makes statements articulating concerns on Syria’s “territorial integrity” and the “terrorism” in ...
Last week, the visit of Ahmed al-Sharaa, President of the Syrian Interim Government, to Türkiye was the top in the agenda. Another significant event was the expulsion of five lieutenants from the military after they took an oath on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk during the Turkish Military Academy’s Banner Handover and Graduation Ceremony, which sparked widespread public outrage. Also, German President ...
By Onur Sinan Güzaltan Turkish politics is once again undergoing an upheaval. It all began when Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the largest nationalist party in the country and the coalition partner of the ruling government, proposed that Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK terrorist organization, be allowed to address Parliament to call ...
Türkiye had a packed agenda last week. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan continued his focus on Syria, while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made remarks regarding Donald Trump’s return to office. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu faced trial over alleged insults toward a prosecutor, and Victory Party leader Ümit Özdağ was detained on charges of insulting the President and inciting public hatred and ...
We present the second part of the interview with a former Syrian National Army (SNA) commander, published by Ali Erdem Köz from Türkiye’s daily Aydınlık daily newspaper. In this second part, the interview revolves around the “stolen revolution”, the possible threats to Türkiye by HTS and the new government in Syria and PKK/YPG. SNA (Syrian National Army), initially started operations ...
Ali Erdem Köz from Türkiye’s daily Aydınlık daily newspaper conducted a very comprehensive interview with a former Syrian National Army (SNA) commander in Syria. The interview provides many insights on highly controversial topics of rapidly evolving developments in Syria. We present the full interview translating into English. The Syrian National Army (SNA) was established by Türkiye in 2017 through the ...
Following the overthrow of the Baath government in Syria, Türkiye is somehow at the center of the new emerging structure. But exactly how? What are the new positive and negative possibilities opening up before Türkiye? We asked Yakup Aslan, the Ankara representative of China Global Television Network, who closely monitors the region, about the new situation and prospects for Türkiye. ...