Turkey

Washington Keeps Alienating Its Policy Partners
Instead of subtly courting China, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, the administration and its congressional allies have petulantly demanded their compliance with U.S. wishes. A top priority for the Biden administration when the Russia-Ukraine War erupted was to secure maximum international support for a strategy to penalize and isolate Moscow. It is clear that the strategy has failed outside of NATO an [...]
Save
Erdogan channels his inner sultan with UNGA words on Crimea, but his Turkey is no Ottoman Empire
To understand why Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan would insult Moscow by declaring that Crimea is Ukrainian just ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, one has to understand his obsession with the Ottoman Empire. “We believe it is important to preserve Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, including the territory of Crimea, whose annexation we do not recogniz [...]
Save
Turkey will not be silent about Israel’s ‘atrocities’, Erdogan tells Palestinian President Abbas
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a meeting on Saturday that he would not be silent about “Israel’s atrocities” in Palestine. According to the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency, Erdogan stressed to Abbas during the meeting that Turkey “did not” and “will not remain silent about Israel's atrocities in Palestine.”  [...]
Save
It’s Time to Return Incirlik & Kurecik Bases to Turkey, Reconsider Relations With US, Observer Says
Turks have taken to the streets in Istanbul, Ankara, Adana, and other cities to protest against Joe Biden recognising the events of 1915 as an Armenian genocide. The demonstrators called upon the Turkish authorities to end the US military's use of the Incirlik Air Base and Kurecik Radar Station in southern Turkey. "I believe that the time has come to return the bases provided by Turkey t [...]
Save
Turkish Media Account Accuses US of Mass ‘Genocide’ of 84 Million People Amid Armenia Spat
Already shaky relations between the US and its Turkish ally took another turn for the worse last week after Joe Biden formally recognised the actions of the Ottoman Empire against Armenians in the early part of the 20th century as genocide. The move sparked outrage throughout Turkey and demands to leave NATO or kick US troops out of the country. Clash Report, a Twitter and Telegram securi [...]
Save
‘If Greece Buys F-35 Fighters, Turkey Will Use S-400 Against Them’, Ret. General Says
Turkey is facing mounting pressure from its NATO allies in the Eastern Mediterranean region which makes its decision to deploy and operate the Russian-made S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft weapon system fully justified, says Ret. Major General Nejat Eslen commenting on Athens' alleged plan to acquire fifth-generation F-35 stealth jets in 2021. On 16 November, Greek weekly newspaper Proto Thema [...]
Save
‘US doesn’t know who it’s dealing with!’ Erdogan dismisses Washington’s threats over S-400 deployment
Turkey is not a “tribal state” that can be pushed around, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, dismissing the American warnings over its procurement of Russian-made S-400 anti-aircraft systems. Ankara will see through the deployment of its S-400 systems, which will not be disrupted by any threats or sanctions, Erdogan made clear, speaking in the eastern Turkish city of Malatya on Sunday. T [...]
Save
US threatens ‘serious consequences’ if Turkey puts into operation its Russian S-400 missile systems
The US State Department has warned the Turkish government of “potential serious consequences” to the two nations’ security relationship should reports of Ankara testing the Russian S-400 air defense systems prove true. “If confirmed, we would condemn in the strongest terms the S-400 test missile launch as incompatible with Turkey’s responsibilities as a NATO ally and strategic partn [...]
Save
‘Major Obstacle’: US ‘Deeply Concerned’ Over Reports of Turkey Potentially Testing S-400s
On Tuesday, it was reported that Turkey had deployed its S-400 air defense systems to the northern city of Samsun near the Black Sea, probably for testing, with Ankara making no official statement on the matter. The US State Department has expressed alarm over reports about possible tests by Turkey of its Russian-made S-400 missile systems. [...]
Save
‘No Leg to Stand On’: Turkey’s Occupation of Syria’s Idlib Not Defensive, NATO Won’t Respond
The situation in northern Syria has grown more volatile since Ankara accused Russia of killing 33 Turkish troops in a Thursday airstrike outside Idlib as Turkey’s NATO allies weigh the option of intervention. An expert told Sputnik NATO involvement is unlikely, but so is Damascus letting up the assault as they try to rebuild their country. [...]
Save
Turkey faces strategic defeat in Idlib after failing to live up to its commitments on Syria
Under the 2018 Sochi agreement, Turkey was supposed to disarm and disassociate itself from the terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Its failure to do so has sown the seeds of Turkey’s inevitable defeat in Syria. When Turkey threw its weight behind the anti-Assad rebellion in 2011, it did so believing that it would be able to dictate the outcome on the ground by controlling the main organ [...]
Save
In 2011 Russia and Turkey did not stop NATO in Libya. Now their voices speak loudest as they try to end 9 years of chaos
Moscow and Ankara are not responsible for starting the conflict which has ravaged Libya, but they may have a decisive role in ending it, as they lead international diplomatic efforts at the Berlin peace conference. The two countries opposed the US-led NATO intervention to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi nine years ago but, despite Turkey being a NATO member and Russia being on the UN Security Council, n [...]
Save
TurkStream is a matter of ‘national & energy security’ for Turkey & EU… and US can’t derail it now
The TurkStream pipeline, supplying Russian gas to Turkey under the Black Sea, will boost energy security of entire southern Europe and the US won’t interfere with it, said Sakir Arikan, managing director of TurkAkim Gas. The much-anticipated 930km pipeline was launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a special ceremony on Wednesday. [...]
Save
Turkish MP on US Senate Turkey Sanctions Bill: ‘This is an Irresponsible Move’
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to close US and NATO military bases in Turkey after the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Wednesday, approved a bill imposing sanctions on Ankara after its offensive in Syria and purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems. 'If necessary, we can close Incirlik, and we can close Kurecik", Erdogan told Turkish channel Haber TV on Sunday. [...]
Save
US-Turkey relations at critical crossroads: what’s behind Erdogan’s threat to shutter Incirlik Air Base?
When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to close a vital airbase used by American forces, he wasn’t bluffing, and Washington should take his threats at face value, or risk losing a NATO ally, analysts say. [...]
Save
Turkey May Close Incirlik Air Base for US Over Sanctions Against S-400 Purchase – Foreign Minister
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara will not abandon the Russian S-400 air defence systems in order to buy American Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a statement that Ankara may insist that the US leave Incirlik air base if Washington goes ahead with the sanctions it has threatened in response to Turkey's purchase [...]
Save
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Approves Sanctions Against Turkey Over Its Purchase of S-400s
Washington has repeatedly threatened to sanction Turkey over its decision to buy the Russian air defense system, and moved to halt the delivery of F-35 fighter jets to Ankara over the purchase earlier this year. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has passed the 'Promoting American National Security and Preventing the Resurgence of ISIS Act', which includes sanctions against Turkey over its dec [...]
Save
‘Destroy, return, get rid of S-400’? Nope, Turkey says we’ll activate Russian missiles instead
Washington officials are reportedly demanding that Turkey “destroy or return” its Russian-made S-400 air defense systems to get back in the good books and rejoin the F-35 fighter program – but Ankara has no intention of complying. [...]
Save
Trump Offered Erdogan $100 Bln Deal in Exchange for S-400 Resolution to US’ ‘Satisfaction’ – Report
The White House has long sought to take counter-measures against the Turkish-Russian deal and now it is reportedly clinging to a new chance to put a spoke in the wheel. US President Trump has offered his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan a set of economic inducements for better US-Turkey relations, according to The Washington Post. [...]
Save