Tag "Erdogan"
Why Turkey Could Help us Understand Putin’s Intentions in Ukraine
Russia has staged the largest mobilisation along the eastern Ukrainian border since the Annexation of Crimea in 2014. Iuliia Mendel, spokesperson for the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated that Moscow had stationed more than 40,000 soldiers near the separatist-held region of Donbas along with an additional 9,000 in Crimea. The sudden increase of Russian military presence in the region comes amid deepening defence cooperation between Turkey and Ukraine. This development in the Ukraine conflict follows a pattern of strategic rivalry between Ankara and Moscow in Libya and Syria. Although on opposing sides in each of these crises, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, share the same geopolitical goal of undermining Western pre-eminence in the post-Cold War system of international relations. Initiative in defence and security in the conduct of relations that Moscow and Ankara exercise with third countries means it is likely the crisis in eastern Ukraine will intensify.
Turkey: Impact of the Syrian war’s next stage
The Syrian Civil war is nearing its end game. This article, part five of a five-part series on the regional impact of this news, examines the current economic obstacles and opportunities for Turkey.
Press freedom and political risk in Central and Eastern Europe
The continuing erosion of press freedom in Central and Eastern Europe should raise alarms among business leaders that operate in the region. Growing media consolidation, autocratic critiques of journalism and prosecutions against reporters are all undermining the ability of observers to get solid business intelligence. In the absence of a free press, political risk is rising in these European markets.
Turkey’s expedited European extraditions
Turkey’s ongoing effort to dismantle the supporters for Fethullah Gülen has underlined its influence in southeast Europe, where multiple countries have hurried to comply with requested Turkish extraditions. This raises hard questions
Turkey’s southern ambitions
While the world is focusing on Turkey’s actions in Syria, President Erdogan’s recent visit to Africa signals Turkey’s intentions to expand its impact on a much larger scale around the Red Sea.
What does Turkey’s referendum result mean for the country’s future?
The narrowness of Turkey’s referendum result is arguably the worst outcome possible, denying the country the political stability many had predicted.
The Week Ahead
Turkey holds referendum. G7 gathers for preliminary meeting. US charts course for Syria. Central banks decide interest rates. All in The Week Ahead.
The potential short-term benefits of changing Turkey’s constitution
On April 16, Turks will vote on proposed changes to Turkey’s constitution, which would grant more powers to the president.
The UK and EU face off over Middle Eastern trade
Theresa May’s recent visits to Trump and Erdogan are under discussion as negotiations and trade deals make the reality of Brexit felt all the more strongly.