Turkey

The Biden administration is offering military support to bolster the defenses of Sweden and Finland against potential Russian actions as Turkey threatens to delay the two Nordic countries’ admission into the NATO alliance. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sat down with Sweden’s Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist at the Pentagon on …

The Biden administration is offering military support to bolster the defenses of Sweden and Finland against potential Russian actions as Turkey threatens to delay the two Nordic countries’ admission into the NATO alliance. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sat down with Sweden’s Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist at the Pentagon on …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s brinkmanship over Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO has put Turkey back at the top of the news. I provided some background, including a scoop on Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s bullying of his Swedish counterpart Anna Linde over her support for the US-backed …

The governments of Sweden and Finland have formally submitted their applications to join NATO after thorough discussion within their respective parliaments. The move will prove to be the latest and arguably the most significant development from the West in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “I warmly welcome the requests …

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is trying to turn what appears to be the most strategic move in NATO’s history into carpet-trading at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. “The Russian-Kurdish nexus has been a recurring feature of Middle Eastern geopolitics for more than two hundred years, since Catherine the Great commissioned the publication …

Extensive meetings were held in the past days between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls Idlib, and the Levant Front, one of the most prominent and strongest groups of the Syrian National Army, in a bid to reach a compromise between the two sides. Commanders from one of the leading factions …

If Ankara can be tactful about Stockholm and Helsinki’s possible membership in NATO, it has a chance to see its concerns addressed. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine turned the spotlight on Turkey’s status as a regional power. Sweden and Finland’s expected bid to join NATO could further boost Turkish influence if …

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statement on May 13 that Turkey would not consider Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership favorably, has exposed the conflict that has been going on behind closed doors since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The plan to make Sweden and Finland, which are members of the European …

The latest developments, including:– Turkey moves to normalize with Assad government in Syria– Why Turkey needs Syria– The Kurdish question and the US– Turkey selling drones to Kazakhstan– The Russia-China-Turkey dynamic in Kazakhstan– Erdogan the opportunist– Turkey offers to evacuate wounded Ukrainian soldiers from Mariupol

Erdogan shakes up otherwise unified Western alliance on Ukraine war. Turkish President Recep Erdogan threatened to veto Finland and Sweden’s bid for NATO membership last week. Europe is at one of its most critical junctures in modern history as the West tries to consolidate its defense against Moscow after Russia’s …