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 at an Inflection Point (2)

March 31, 2025

Türkiye’s governing AKP came to power in November 2002. Twenty-three years later, it is still in power. Children who started elementary school in 2002 are now thirty.

In its early years, the AKP appeared to have a democratic agenda. It engaged in economic reform.

At the Brussels summit on December 17, 2004, EU leaders agreed to start accession negotiations with Ankara. These negotiations were kicked off in Luxembourg on October 3, 2005. AKP’s popular support surged. However, while many were happy with the AKP’s performance, some reserved judgment and waited for what could be “in-store”.

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Times of Trouble

March 23, 2025

When addressing international questions in my posts, I generally conclude by saying, “As for Türkiye,” and share a few observations on my country’s current challenges. Today, I would reverse the order and briefly start with Türkiye because we are going through tragic times, to say the least.

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Syria Facing Huge Challenges

March 13, 2025

A brief look at the past:

In 2009, the communique issued at the end of the Damascus meeting of the “Turkish-Syrian High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council” referred to a “strategic partnership”, then a fashionable label for Türkiye’s external relationships. It mentioned common threats and challenges confronting the two countries. A year later, Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu, in remarks to the press with his Syrian counterpart in Latakia, underlined that the exemplary relationship between Syria and Türkiye was serving as a model for regional partnerships and that the two countries were aiming at total economic integration with neighbors.

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Ukraine Peace: A Challenge for Transatlantic Relations

March 10, 2025

On February 19, 2021, President Biden addressed the Virtual Munich Security Conference. He declared, “America is back.”

Last week, President Trump delivered his State of the Union address before Congress. He started his remarks with the following:

“I return to this chamber tonight to report that America’s momentum is back. Our spirit is back. Our pride is back. Our confidence is back…”

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Realignment in the West?

March 3, 2025

For centuries Europe remained the world’s main battleground. The casualties of the two world wars within four decades dwarfed the losses and devastation of past conflicts.  And as the Second World War ended, the Iron Curtain descended across Europe.

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The Onerous Task of Bringing Peace to Ukraine

February 24, 2025

Today marks the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war continues but the diplomatic picture has changed dramatically. President Trump’s first month in office was frenetic, to say the least, and led to the fracturing of the US-Europe relationship as NATO and the EU were sidelined. The background to the conflict, and differing views on whether history could have been differently aside, Mr. Trump’s reversal of Washington’s policy has shocked allies. If his words were to be matched with action in the months ahead this would have lasting consequences for trust in the Trump White House, US foreign and security policy, relations with NATO allies, and relations with allies/partners in the Indo-Pacific.

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The West in Turmoil

February 17, 2025

President Trump’s barrage of proposals and statements by senior US officials on peace in the Middle East and Ukraine have surprised European partners, triggering confusion and uncertainty. Last Friday, Vice-President Vance chastised European leaders for failing to listen to their voters. When asked about European participation in the negotiations with Russia, US Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Kellogg said, “I think that’s not gonna happen.” Mr. Trump’s latest salvo, lost among others, was a nuclear deal with Russia and China to halve defense budgets.

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President Trump’s Diplomatic Agenda Unfolding

February 10, 2025

At a CNN town hall in May 2023, Mr. Trump said: “They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done — I’ll have that done in 24 hours.” He said that would happen after he met with Ukrainian President Zelensky and President Putin. And he kept repeating the claim on the campaign trail.

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Redesigning the Middle East

February 3, 2025

Since his inauguration, President Trump’s speeches and remarks have only led to confusion and uncertainty regarding his administration’s foreign, security, and economic policies. Reacting to his continuing remarks about Greenland, Denmark announced last week that it would invest 2.05 billion dollars to boost its military presence in the Arctic. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sharply criticized Elon Musk’s backing of the right-wing parties in the European Union, calling it “really disgusting” and said it was hindering democracy in the bloc. As for his new tariffs, the frontrunner to be the next Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, said his country will “stand up to a bully”.

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Toward a More Transactional Relationship

January 27, 2025

President Trump’s inaugural address lasted for thirty minutes.[i] He said little about the guiding principles of Washington’s future foreign and security policy. He once again stressed that America would soon be greater, stronger, and far more exceptional than ever before and respected all over the world.

Since Washington always claims to be the leader of the democratic world and exceptional, one would have expected him to say a few words about promoting democracy.

President Trump used the word “democracy” just once.

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