May 19, 2025
Last week, the world focused on President Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and the Russia-Ukraine “peace talks”, and the rising death toll in Gaza.
Looking at the welcome extended to Mr. Trump and the deals made in the three Gulf nations, one cannot help but remember President Biden’s visit to the region in July 2022.
Okumaya devam etMay 12, 2025
The world is going through a period of conflict and uncertainty. Where does Türkiye stand? What is Ankara’s relationship with its allies, traditional partners, regional countries, and neighbors?
Okumaya devam etMay 5, 2025
At the end of President Trump’s first 100 days in office, the US and world media published assessments of the past three months.
The International Crisis Group, in a commentary titled “Trump’s Turbulent First 100 Days: Views from Around the Globe,” said:
Okumaya devam etApril 28, 2025
President Trump likes being on the center stage at all times, prefers communicating his messages personally, and enjoys press gaggles. His messages, remarks, threats, and flip-flops are confusing and have introduced an element of unpredictability into US foreign policy on a wide range of issues, including the war in Ukraine. And he constantly berates his predecessors, blaming them for failures.
Okumaya devam etApril 21, 2025
Following President Erdoğan’s first use of it in early January after the arrest of Mr. Rıza Akpolat, the Mayor of the Beşiktaş district of İstanbul, “radish” has become the top word of the Turkish political lexicon. Once he used the word, Mr. Özgür Özel, the leader of the main opposition party CHP, reacted by calling it “a declaration of war”. Thus, while the world remains engaged in a tariff war, we are fighting an internal “radish war”.
Okumaya devam etApril 14, 2025
People aspire to democracy. Regardless of the level of respect they have for fundamental rights and freedoms, all regimes, including dictatorships claim to be democratic as this remains the ultimate source of legitimacy. People also aspire to economic development, higher standards of living, and a fair distribution of income.
Okumaya devam etApril 7, 2025
On January 18, 2025, following the Israeli government’s approval of the Gaza ceasefire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a statement. He notably declared that Israel retains the right to return to the war, if necessary, with the backing of the US. And in a broad assessment of the war against Hamas and Iran’s Axis of Resistance, he said:
“We eliminated Sinwar, Deif and Haniyeh. We eliminated Nasrallah and the entire Hezbollah leadership. We destroyed most of the weaponry of the Syrian military. We struck the Houthis in Yemen. We acted against Iran. Indeed, we struck all of these very hard, that is to say that we struck the entire Iranian axis very hard – and we are still active.
“Just as I promised you, we have changed the face of the Middle East.”
Okumaya devam etMarch 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”.
Okumaya devam etMarch 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.
Okumaya devam etMarch 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.
Okumaya devam et
Diplomatik Yorum - Ali Tuygan 