The Turkish people chose Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the first president of the new presidential system in their country on June 24, making him win his 13th race for elections since 2002.

It took just 58 days for the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and Free Syrian Army (FSA) to liberate the Afrin city center.

Kurdish Syrian politician says PYD/PKK never allows any group which defends a different point of view

Now it's Washington's turn to decide.

Turkey is seeking to protect its economic and political interests in northern Iraq while fighting against PKK and ISIL.

The PYD does not represent the whole Kurds living in the north of Syria and, in fact, a large group of Kurds, escaping from PYD, fled to Northern Iraq, Muhittin Ataman said.

The Turkish state has every right to defend the welfare and security of its citizens within a democratic framework via a new security paradigm and tougher penalties for those who are proved to support terrorist actions in different ways

Turkey seems unwilling to tolerate the situation in Syria any longer precisely because the creation of a PYD-controlled area across the southern border could create a long-term national security threat.

Perhaps the most consequential and drastic decision in Turkish foreign policy in recent months was to engage in direct negotiations with Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq. This is significant because, since the onset of Iraq War in 2003, Turkey has sought to ignore or marginalize Iraqi Kurds, and has refrained from all acts that could be viewed as concessions or de facto recognition. Although the Iraqi Kurdish leadership has received red-carpet ceremony in Ankara in the1990s, Turkish foreign policy toward northern Iraq, since the war, has been stymied by anxiety and emotional rhetoric. Indeed, the fear of Iraq’s disintegration and the rise of an independent Kurdish enclave in the north, inspiring or even assisting separatist sentiments in Turkey, have appeared to cloud the possibility of rational evaluation of the pros and cons of policy alternatives. As a result, the policy of projecting illegitimacy to the Kurdish Regional Government has cost Turkey a significant loss of clout not only in northern Iraq but also in the wider Iraqi political affairs, as Kurds have come to occupy significant positions in the central government as well.

The meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President George W. Bush at the White House last Monday was expected to be a turning point for Turkey’s war on Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorism as well as for US-Turkish relations; at least some on the Turkish side thought so. While Prime Minister Erdoğan said he was happy with the outcome of the meeting, it is simplistic to interpret this as a watershed event in US-Turkish relations.  

Masud Barzani’s recent statements about Kirkuk are nothing new. We have heard other passionate statements from him before. What is new is the comparison between Kirkuk and Diyarbakir. This is something that will be talked about for years to come.Apparently, Mr. Barzani made this statement during an interview with al-Arabiyyah TV back in January 26, 2007. The Turkish government is in shock, and for a good reason.

Turkish President Abdullah Gül’s visit to the White House, his first such visit to the US as president and the first visit by a Turkish president in 11 years, comes at a time when US-Turkish relations have taken a new turn.

If the Kurds want to realize their demand they must first become one of the main actors of the resistance movement to depose al-Assad in a way that does not leave room for doubt.

The political performance presented in the Diyarbakır visit of Massoud Barzani, President of the Kurdish Regional Administration in Northern Iraq, and of Erdoğan will create an effect of clearing the early reservations of the Kurdish Movement about the political ground and political strength of Erdoğan.

The attack on Mosul and the fall of the second-largest city in Iraq may also have some serious consequences regarding the future of international and regional relations in the region.

Since the beginning of the American occupation, Turkey has consistently been one regional actor that has been most supportive of Iraq. It has consistently exerted the most effort towards Iraq’s consolidation.

No need to say that this will create a substantial additional bill for energy-dependent countries like Turkey, and multi-pronged strategies shall be prepared beforehand to ensure energy security.