October 3, 2024
Ankara’s foreign policy of the past fifteen years is a story of extreme rhetoric, defiance, and inconsistencies. Every country can make reasonable adjustments to its foreign policy. But if U-turns become a pattern, this signals a lack of long-term foresight. A sound foreign policy follows a steady course like a big ship, it does not constantly change direction like a runabout.
Okumaya devam etSeptember 30, 2024
Last week, world leaders, though not all, gathered in New York to engage in the annual high-level General Assembly debate to “explore solutions to intertwined global challenges to advance peace, security, and sustainable development” to use the UN language. Yet, nobody expected them to do much about the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Okumaya devam etSeptember 20, 2024
At least 37 people were killed and thousands more injured, many seriously, when pagers and walkie-talkies, used by Hezbollah, exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the operation. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant complimented the Israeli Intelligence Agency, the Mossad, for “great achievements”, but stopped short of claiming responsibility for the two days of attacks in Lebanon. However, American and other countries’ officials have reportedly said that Israel was responsible for the explosions.
Okumaya devam etSeptember 16, 2024
The year 2023 was a tough one for Ukraine. Its spring offensive failed. The US military aid started coming after months of delay. Mobilization became unpopular in Ukrainian society. In brief, it became increasingly clear that a Ukrainian victory against Russia was not in the cards.
Some Western observers presented the Ukrainian incursion into the Russian province of Kursk in early August 2024 as an important military achievement. In an article on September 5, Anatol Lieven said that while legally and morally justified, the attack has failed in all its objectives.[i] In brief, the battlefield developments of the past two years have not supported President Zelensky’s expectations of a future victory over Russia.
Okumaya devam etSeptember 2, 2024
Hafez al-Assad was the 18th president of Syria from 1971 until he died in 2000. He was the number one regional enemy of Türkiye. Starting in the mid-1980s, Syria provided the PKK and its leader Ocalan with safe havens from where they launched terrorist attacks against Türkiye across the 910-kilometer border. President Assad, despite irrefutable evidence provided by Ankara over the years, constantly denied support. Türkiye’s patience finally ran out. In the fall of 1988, the Turkish land forces commander delivered an ultimatum on the border saying that either Syria deported Ocalan or the Turkish army would move in. Hafez al-Assad complied. On October 20, 1988, Türkiye and Syria signed the Adana Agreement which was essentially a commitment by Damascus to end its support to terrorism.
Okumaya devam etAugust 23, 2024
The October 7 Hamas onslaught was a shock to Israel, but also to Washington because with the Abraham Accords, it seemed that the US could put its Middle East troubles behind and focus on its strategic competition with China and the war in Ukraine. Which power or powers could convince Israel of the need with growing urgency to put a stop to the current fighting? None other than the US, one would think. However, as I said in my last post, Prime Minister Netanyahu knows that no matter who is in the White House, he can manage Washington’s Middle East policy more than Washington can steer his conduct in the Gaza Strip. Moreover, with his appeals for a ceasefire, it appears now that President Biden is asking for a favor from Mr. Netanyahu, not the opposite.
Okumaya devam etAugust 19, 2024
Since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, world attention has essentially focused on two aspects of the war in Gaza. First, the ferocity of the IDF operations that have caused immense loss of civilian life and devastation, and second, the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange talks.
Okumaya devam etAugust 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 et
Diplomatik Yorum - Ali Tuygan 