August 5, 2023
In 1492, the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of Atatürk’s modern Türkiye, opened its doors to Jews after they had been expelled from Spain. Türkiye became the first Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel as an independent state in 1949. In the late 1950s, Türkiye and Israel agreed to expand their cooperation in diplomatic, economic, and military fields during Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion’s visit to Ankara. Relations kept developing.
Okumaya devam etJuly 28, 2024
Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the US Congress for the fourth time, the most of any foreign leader in history. Winston Churchill had addressed Congress only three times.
Mr. Netanyahu’s previous address to Congress was in March 2015, during the Obama presidency, and only two weeks before the Israeli elections. Traditionally, US administrations do not receive foreign heads of state or government shortly before their elections. Still, the Republican leaders of Congress decided to invite him, defying President Obama.
Okumaya devam etJuly 22, 2024
During the past weeks, developments of global public interest somehow diverted attention away from the war in Gaza until the Israeli strikes on Al-Mawasi, an area in southern Gaza where tens of thousands of Palestinians had fled to after the Israeli military declared it safe for civilians. The attack targeted Mohammed Deif, a Hamas commander, but also left nearly a hundred dead and more than three hundred wounded.
Okumaya devam etJuly 15, 2024
In a post two weeks ago, I said that an assessment of NATO’s past 75 years must have two principal chapters: One on NATO’s performance in providing security for the territory of its members, under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, and a second one on the consequences of its members’ individual and collective actions, and their impact on the global perception of NATO and the West. I concluded that the first chapter is a success story, the second an entirely different one.
Okumaya devam etJuly 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.
Okumaya devam etJuly 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.
Okumaya devam etJuly 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.
Okumaya devam etJune 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.
Okumaya devam etJune 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]
Okumaya devam etJune 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.
Okumaya devam et
Diplomatik Yorum - Ali Tuygan 