Iran-Saudi truce: China's growing influence in the Middle East
Last Friday, Iran and Saudi Arabia announced that they have agreed to resume diplomatic relations and end hostilities. The Chinese government has brokered the deal between the two estranged neighbors and regional enemies. With the initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the two countries have decided to exchange ambassadors and reopen embassies. According to the news agencies, the surprise development was announced in Beijing after several days (from March 6 to March 10) of intense deliberations between the two countries' top officials.
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Electoral marathon: What will Türkiye see in the 64-day race?
On Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a decree for Türkiye to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14, 2023. The country thus started counting down to the most consequential elections in its recent past – and this year’s most important election worldwide.
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Retracting from her comments due to the CHP’s attacks and isolating herself within the opposition bloc, IP Chair Akşener is likely to face pressure from secularists over the HDP’s involvement
The EU and U.K. have reached a new agreement in principle called the 'Windsor Framework,' replacing the old protocol and setting out the parameters of the new period related to the Brexit issue
The opposition leaders charge President Erdoğan with instituting ‘one-man rule’ but their solution is unimaginable. Nowhere in the world has political power been shared by eight parties
Africa has expressed opposition to French President Emmanuel Macron's new partnership strategy, which aims to shift away from the traditional French policy toward the continent, as some African observers remain skeptical of its potential to bring about real change
Thoughts on the G20 final declaration fiasco
At the end of the G-20 Foreign Ministers' Summit held in New Delhi, the capital of India, the final text could not be published due to differences of opinion on Ukraine. The meeting was a preparation for the G-20 Leaders' Summit, which was planned to be held in the same city in September. The success of the meeting was also a matter of prestige for India, which wanted to increase its international profile by evaluating the West's policies that tried to distance China in recent years. Disagreements between the West and Russia and China over the Ukraine issue prevented Indian Prime Minister Modi's call to "focus on common points, not differences" from being answered. The fact that the final text could not be published despite Modi's efforts indicates that the international system crisis will continue to deepen.
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Experts Respond: How will the deadly earthquakes impact Türkiye’s foreign relations?
Southern Türkiye was jolted by twin earthquakes on February 6 that caused unprecedented devastation across an extremely vast area, impacting 11 provinces. Almost on par with the scale of the devastation, Türkiye has also received a huge amount of humanitarian aid from many countries with which Türkiye both has cordial and strained relations. In light of the considerable level of solidarity showcased by many countries, it is still unclear whether this atmosphere of solidarity and amicability will translate into tangible outcomes in the respective bilateral relations between Türkiye and these nations. Likewise, it is also unclear whether the solidarity displayed by countries with which Türkiye had tense relations until the earthquakes will cause a thaw in bilateral ties and lead to a new chapter in relations. We asked foreign policy experts to weigh in on these questions.
Bilgehan Öztürk
Sibel Düz
Mehmet Uğur Ekinci
Can Acun
Murat Aslan
Kutluhan Görücü
Ferhat Pirinççi
Tunç Demirtaş
Rural development efforts are urgently needed for better food security.
Having refused to meet Erdoğan, even in the name of national solidarity for the earthquakes, the main opposition CHP's Chair Kılıçdaroğlu set a high bar for critics by saying that the president was the 'disaster of the century'
The new assessment of the U.S. Department of Energy, which made headlines in the press, is that the Covid-19 virus may have "leaked from a laboratory". Although this assessment is at a 'low confidence level', it differs from the consensus of intelligence units and scientists. Contrary to the general opinion of government agencies, FBI Director Christopher Wray supported the Department of Energy's assessment by saying, "The FBI has been evaluating the source of the pandemic for quite some time, most likely a potential laboratory accident." The White House states that there is no consensus among government agencies on this issue. Despite this, the issue of the origin of the pandemic, which is on Washington's list of complaints about China, is again on the agenda, creating a new element of pressure against China.
We predict a negative effect on Turkey due to the recent disaster along its southern borders, but this will be limited and manageable.
