The Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque's reopening, an embodiment of Turkey’s free will, could not have been possible without Erdoğan’s leadership and the Turkish people’s confidence in him. Hagia Sophia’s "resurrection" has become a symbol of Turkey’s efforts to become a prominent player in the international arena. A missing piece of our national identity has thus been put back in place. No politician would ever dare to reverse this decision as long as Turkey remains a democracy.

There are many questions in regard to the potential impact of issues related to foreign policy on the U.S. elections. Foreign policy has seldom been among the issues that shape voting behavior in the U.S. In the 2018 midterm election, it was not among the top five issues for American voters. In presidential elections, foreign policy issues become a little more relevant. One of the presidential debates specifically focuses on foreign and national security policy.

Wednesday will be the fourth anniversary of the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey. Four years ago, Turkish people defeated an attempt to overthrow the country's democratically elected government. The people demonstrated their commitment to democracy by organizing mass rallies for more than 30 days after July 15, to prevent another such attempt.

The 2016 presidential election in the U.S. is being remembered not only as an election that many pollsters and political analysts failed to predict, but also for the debates about Russian meddling in the elections. Even before the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the tensions between the U.S. and Russia had begun to rise in regard to the activities of Russian operatives in the U.S.

After three elections, Israel’s new coalition government was finally sworn in on Sunday. Likud’s Benjamin Netanyahu will serve as prime minister for the government’s first 18 months before being replaced by Blue and White leader Benny Gantz. The end of Israel’s government crisis stands to fuel fresh tensions in the Middle East. Israeli expansionism will be at the top of the country’s agenda during the hot summer months of the 72nd year of the Nakba.

Last week this column addressed how the coronavirus can change the debates and domestic dynamics of the U.S. elections. The crisis management and leadership in handling the outbreak, the economy – in particular, unemployment rates – and the state of the health care sector in the U.S. were cited as potential issues that may arise or be amplified as a result of the pandemic.

If the coronavirus crisis were not at the top of the public agenda, today the most significant topic would be the U.S. presidential elections, with President Donald Trump having actually launched his campaign even before the outbreak.

Ignore The New York Times’ smear campaign against Turkey’s COVID-19 response. The United States tops the list of the world’s most unsuccessful countries in fighting the coronavirus. U.S. President Donald Trump, who previously dismissed the possibility of a second wave in the fall, was at odds with medical experts and walked back his comments during a news conference. If the virus were to come back, Trump said, his country would easily defeat it.

As China declares victory over the coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) says Europe has become the pandemic’s epicenter. With Italy’s death toll on the rise, Western leaders have responded to the crisis in different ways. It is possible to argue that ideology, together with their respective health care systems’ total capacity and leadership styles, played some role there.

Discussions over President Donald Trump’s impeachment started as soon as he walked into the Oval Office in 2017. There were several reasons but the most important was the possibility that Russia may have interfered in the 2016 Presidential elections helping Trump to become the 45th U.S. president.

Pesident Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is in New York this week, leading a delegation, to attend the U.N. General Assembly's 74th session. After meeting civil society leaders and think tanks Sunday, Erdoğan held a series of talks with world leaders on Monday. Yesterday, he addressed the General Assembly, delivering a speech akin to his 2014 address. .

To save himself from more criticism over the increasing number of 'unappointed positions' in Washington, President Trump has been rushing to find a man for the foreign and national security desk since John Bolton's ‘sudden' departure

Turkish-U.S. relations in the last few years have had so many crises and instabilities that everybody started to ask what was going wrong.

Following meetings between top diplomats from Turkey and the U.S. in Washington last week, there is cautious optimism for a "road map" for the future of Manbij and U.S.-Turkish relations.

As a NATO ally, the U.S. shouldn't have underestimated Turkey's security concerns and instead, should have understood how serious Ankara is in dealing with YPG terrorists in northern Syria

If Trump continues to be manipulated by Obama's advisers to determine his Syria policy, he'll be remembered as a failed U.S. president in the future just like Obama

With the liberation of al-Bab from Daesh terrorists, Turkey has proven once again that Operation Euphrates Shield is the most successful weapon on the ground against the deadly terrorist group in Syria