Yazar arşivleri: Ali Tuygan

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Ali Tuygan hakkında

Ali Tuygan is a graduate of the Faculty of Political Sciences of Ankara University. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January 1967. Between various positions in Ankara, he served at the Turkish Embassy in Brussels, NATO International Staff, Turkish Embassies in Washington and Baghdad, and the Turkish Delegation to NATO. From 1986 to 1989 he was the Principal Private Secretary to the President of the Republic. He then served as ambassador to Ottawa, Riyadh, and Athens. In 1997 he was honored with a decoration by the Italian President. Between these assignments abroad he served twice as Deputy Undersecretary for Political Affairs. In 2004 he was appointed Undersecretary where he remained until the end of 2006 before going to his last foreign assignment as Ambassador to UNESCO. He retired in 2009. In April 2013 he published a book entitled “Gönüllü Diplomat, Dışişlerinde Kırk Yıl” (“Diplomat by Choice, Forty Years in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”) in which he elaborated on the diplomatic profession and the main issues on the global agenda. He has published articles in Turkish periodicals and newspapers.

Türkiye’s Overlooked Gift to Israel

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July 8, 2024

President Bashar al-Assad met with Alexander Lavrentiev, President Putin’s special envoy in late June. During their discussion, President al-Assad reportedly expressed Syria’s openness to all initiatives aimed at improving Syrian-Turkish relations, provided Ankara respects Syria’s sovereignty and commits to combating all forms of terrorism and terrorist organizations. In the following days, President Erdoğan said that Türkiye has no interest in interfering in Syria’s domestic affairs and that the two countries could act in unity as in the past. Yesterday, he also said an invitation could soon be extended to President Assad to visit Türkiye. These statements and the acts of violence between Syrian refugees and the locals in some Turkish cities once again moved the question of “reconciliation with Syria” up Türkiye’s foreign policy agenda. Whether this is simply another distraction from our depressing economic problems or represents a genuine change of heart remains to be seen.

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NATO’s 75th Anniversary

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July 3, 2024

As the NATO Heads of State meetings start in Washington next week, many will look at the past and evaluate the Alliance’s performance in the past 75 years. In my view, such an assessment must have two principal chapters: One on NATO’s performance in providing security for the territory of its members, and a second on the consequences of its members’ individual and collective actions, and their impact on the global perception of NATO and the West. In my view, the first is a success story, the second an entirely different one as I will elaborate at the end.

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Lessening the Intensity of the War in Gaza

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July 1, 2024

In recent posts, I said that Prime Minister Netanyahu could be thinking of continuing the war in Gaza in different ways depending on the battlefield requirements, lowering the loss of life among Gazans, keeping the talks over hostage-prisoner exchange and humanitarian aid alive, and thus gaining time until the upcoming US presidential election that might pave the way for another family visit to a Trump White House. But until then, should that prove to be the case, it would be a tough path for Mr. Netanyahu both at home and abroad with only a four-seat majority in the Knesset, an increasingly critical global view of Israel’s operations in Gaza, and now the prospect of a war with Hezbollah.

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The Summit on Peace in Ukraine  

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June 18, 2024

The Summit, organized by Switzerland, took place at Bürgenstock on June 15-16, 2024. The task of the meeting was to develop a common understanding of a path towards a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. In the absence of Russia and China expectations from the summit were modest. No one anticipated a debate on what a postwar settlement would look like or Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO. Nonetheless, attendance was high. After all, countries across the globe are interested in peace in Ukraine regardless of their vision of the endgame.

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The War in Gaza to Continue

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June 17, 2024

On May 31, President Biden announced that Israel has offered a comprehensive new proposal. He described the three-phase Israeli plan as a roadmap to an enduring ceasefire and the release of all hostages. He added that the proposal had been transmitted by Qatar to Hamas.[i]

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The Arduous Path to Peace in Ukraine

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June 10, 2024

The past year has been a tough one for Ukraine. Its 2023 spring offensive failed. US military aid started coming after months of delay. Mobilization became unpopular in Ukrainian society. Children of Ukrainian migrants in Europe are experiencing schooling difficulties. By contrast, Russia has regained momentum.

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Revisiting the Past

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June 3, 2024

Last week witnessed some confusion over the future of the war in Gaza and the prospects for peace. Looking at what has transpired since the October 7 Hamas attack, this was no surprise. On Friday, President Biden announced that after intensive diplomacy carried out by his team and his many conversations with leaders of Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries, Israel has offered a comprehensive new proposal, a roadmap to an enduring ceasefire, and the release of all hostages.

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Israel’s Time of Troubles

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May 27, 2024

The Hamas onslaught of October 7 has been described by many as a “shock” for Israel. In terms of its violence, indeed it was a shock, but considering the misery, subjugation, and deprivation in Gaza, next to one of the world’s most prosperous and advanced countries, and growing international apathy toward the Palestinian question, a local outburst was only to be expected. Recently, Professor John Mearsheimer, a prominent critic of US foreign policy, called the situation in Gaza, “apartheid”.[i] And no wonder that the case against Israel was brought to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by South Africa whose President Cyril Ramaphosa said that as a people who once tasted the bitter fruits of dispossession, discrimination, racism, and state-sponsored violence, they are clear that they will stand on the right side of history.

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Growing Concerns Over Israel’s Rafah Offensive

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May 20, 2022

Until yesterday, international attention was focused on the pending Israeli offensive on Rafah and the domestic political challenges facing Prime Minister Netanyahu. On Sunday, however,  Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials died in a helicopter crash on their way back home from Azerbaijan. How this tragedy would impact the extremely complicated Middle East picture remains to be seen.

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“Yumuşama” in Türkiye

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May 13, 2024

During the past two weeks, the word “yumuşama” was widely used to describe “political change” in Türkiye. Though I know what some matching words are in English, I nonetheless looked up in the dictionary for alternatives. Among those were “moderation”, “softening”, “mellowing”, “relentment”, and “détente”. Being a retired diplomat, I was tempted at first to go inadvertently for “détente”. Inadvertently because the “policy of détente” refers to the time in the 1960s-1970s when the two superpowers, the USSR and the US eased tension and tried to cooperate to avoid conflict. It was a process.

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