Turkey

In late October, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced the unilateral withdrawal of its fighters from Turkey to northern Iraq. The announcement came on the heels of PKK fighters symbolically burning weapons in northern Iraq in July. In response, Turkey praised the move and is reportedly preparing legislation to allow …

US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said the Syrian president will formalize his country’s entry into the US-led alliance next week. Tom Barrack, the US special envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey, told reporters on the sidelines of the Manama Dialogue Conference in Bahrain today that Syrian President …

Latest Developments ‘Palestinians Should Govern Palestinians’: Turkey convened a meeting of foreign ministers of Muslim-majority countries on November 3 to discuss the future of the Gaza ceasefire deal, the humanitarian situation in the coastal enclave, and the proposed International Stabilization Force. “Our principle is that Palestinians should govern the Palestinians …

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues his campaign to expand Turkey’s influence across the Middle East. Last week, he wrapped up a rapid tour of Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman, aiming to secure trade, investment, energy, and defense deals. But beyond commercial agreements, Erdogan’s top priority was to rally Arab backing for …

Türkiye has been a chief geostrategic beneficiary of the setbacks to Iran and its “Axis of Resistance,” but its expanded regional influence has fueled new tensions with another regional power, Israel. Türkiye and Israel, despite some fundamental differences, recognize each other’s interests and respect their separate close relations with the …

The Kurdish militant group is laying down its weapons. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is considering expanding minority rights. But some people say they cannot forgive and forget… It had been five years since Dilber Oyunlu had seen her daughter, Sinda. Then one day in July, she appeared on television. Ms …

Turkey was among the first to recognise Kosovo in 2008 and has since backed its efforts for wider international recognition. During the early 2010s, frequent visits between then prime minister Hashim Thaci and Erdogan deepened ties, while Turkish companies secured major stakes in Kosovo’s economy: from the airport and electricity …

Israel’s attempted assassination of the Hamas political leadership in Doha, Qatar, has shaken the Gulf region, which hitherto believed that Qatar’s status as a US ally and official mediator in the Gaza war shielded it from such an attack. Considering this willingness to attack Hamas in Qatar, Israel could conceivably …

On June 29, 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State in al-Sham (ISIS), was recorded on video speaking at the al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul, Iraq. (“Al-Sham” is the traditional Arabic name for the Levant.) He declared himself to be the caliph or divinely inspired absolute ruler of …

Syria’s civil war broke out in March 2011, in reaction to the brutal crackdown by the regime of Bashar al-Asad of popular protests that were part of the wider Arab Spring. In supporting the Syrian rebels, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan initially used the language of humanitarian intervention, claiming to …