Shaded Relief and Radar Image of the narrow Bosporous Strait connecting Istanbul with the vast expanse of the Black Sea. Source: United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington has dusted up its old toolbox to re-engage its cold-war ally Turkey and resuscitate their moribund alliance to serve the US’ geo-strategic interests in the …
Erdogan’s mediatory role on Ukraine cannot be wished away
Jubilant crowds outside the Presidential Complex to celebrate President Recep Erdogan’s election victory, Ankara, May 28, 2023 Among the host of implications for international security stemming out of Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s election victory in the runoff on Sunday — be it in the Black Sea, Eastern Mediterranean, Transcaucasus, West Asia or Eurasian integration — …
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US is recalibrating the power dynamic in East Mediterranean. Can South Asia be far behind?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) met Turkiye President Recep Erdogan at Samarkand, Uzbekistan, September 16, 2022 A mild flutter ensued after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s recent meeting with his Turkiye counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York on September 21 when it came to be …
Turkey, NATO joined at hips but think differently
US President Joe Biden (R) met Turkish President Recep Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Madrid, June 30, 2022 Turkey has had an uneasy history as a NATO member country. The push and pull of strategic autonomy constantly grated against a security guarantee the alliance offered and also a way of reinforcing its Western …
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Turkey draws closer to the US and Europe
A US Navy destroyer crosses the Bosphorus to enter the Black Sea, as tensions simmer around Ukraine. (File photo) Being a “swing state” may have tactical advantages but when life gets tough and the tough gets going, there could be consequences. Turkey once faced such a moment of truth a hundred years ago. It faces a similar predicament …
US reclaims Turkey for the western alliance
The first components of Turkey’s S-400 air defence missiles arrived from Russia in Ankara in July, 2019. (File Photo) Less than forty-eight hours separate the US President Joe Biden’s meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan in Brussels from his summit with Vladimir Putin at Geneva on June 16. In between falls the shadow of the …
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What to expect when Biden, Erdogan meet
Expectations are soaring in Ankara over the forthcoming meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels on June 14. Erdogan said recently, “I believe that our meeting with Mr. Biden at the NATO summit will be the harbinger of a new era.” …
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 …