Turkish President Recep Erdogan (L) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) with President Biden & NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (C), NATO Summit, Vilnius,July 11, 2023 The NATO Summit in Vilnius (July 11-12) signalled that there is absolutely no possibility of talks to settle the Ukraine war in a foreseeable future. The war will only intensify, …
Turkiye rallies behind Erdogan
It comes as no surprise that the United States and the European Union didn’t have the face to commend the performance of Recep Erdogan and his party in the presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkiye on Sunday. The election results do not serve the geopolitical interests of the US and its European allies. It is …
Kemalism vs Kemalism in Turkish elections
Turkish presidential election Sunday goes down to the wires From a geopolitical perspective, the Turkish presidential election on Sunday may appear to be one of the most crucial non-violent political events of this year. But appearances can be deceptive in Turkish politics. In the surcharged polarisation of “West versus Rest” in international politics, western media is rooting for …
Continue reading “Kemalism vs Kemalism in Turkish elections”
Erdogan weighs up Russia, dares Biden
Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s (R) friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) annoys the US (File photo) Turkish President Recep Erdogan has disclosed that Russian President Vladimir Putin may attend the nuclear fuel loading ceremony on April 27 at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov deftly handled the political bombshell, choosing not to …
Turkey gets an ally in Ukraine
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar (L) and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (L2); Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba (R2) and Defense Minister Andriy Taran (R) held a press conference after meeting in a ‘2+2’ format, Kiev, Ukraine, Dec, 18, 2020. Turkey under President Recep Erdogan has been variously accused of ‘neo-Ottomanism’, revanchism or radical Islamism. But …
Trump sets the Israeli cat among Arab pigeons
Iranian military delegation led by Defence Minister Gen. Amir Hatami examining Russian weaponry, Moscow, August 24, 2020 The US President Donald Trump’s legacy in the Middle East is going to be that he scattered the region’s Arab unity once and for all. What the successive waves of Cold War, oil, petrodollar, terrorism, political Islam or …
Continue reading “Trump sets the Israeli cat among Arab pigeons”
Turkey, Russia take timeout in Libyan war
Parliament in Cairo unanimously voted on July 20, 2020 to authorise dispatch of Egyptian troops on combat missions abroad Just as the Mediterranean air is thick with talk that a military confrontation between Turkey and Egypt is brewing over control of Libya, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Versihinin flew into Ankara for consultations with his counterpart …
Continue reading “Turkey, Russia take timeout in Libyan war”
The West has no standing on Hagia Sophia
The 6th century CE (532–537) Hagia Sophia cathedral, Istanbul A defining moment came, rather unnoticed, when the foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) held a virtual meeting on July 13 where the group’s relations with Turkey was on the agenda. The resumption of Muslim prayers in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul came up for …
Turkey hangs tough on Libya
The series of debilitating military setbacks that Libya’s renegade general Khalifa Haftar suffered in the recent weeks have spurred diplomatic activities over the conflict in the country. But the war is far from over. Haftar’s dream of capturing Tripoli from the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj has been …
Turkey, Russia tiptoe toward ‘unnecessary war’
The Russian destruction of Turkish fleet at the Battle of Sinop on 30th November 1853 sparked the Crimean War. (Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky, Russian Romantic painter who is considered one of the greatest masters of marine art.) A military confrontation between Turkey and Syria has erupted in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib. Latest reports say …
Continue reading “Turkey, Russia tiptoe toward ‘unnecessary war’”