The F-35 decision and its aftermath

The Pentagon removed Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's earlier comments about Ankara being treated unfairly over its move to purchase the S-400 missile defense system from Russia. That Congress favored Turkey's removal was no secret either. It remains to be seen whether the United States will levy sanctions on Turkey under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

More
The F-35 decision and its aftermath
International politics needs innovative brainstorming more than ever

International politics needs innovative brainstorming more than ever

Since the beginning of the S-400 crisis between Turkey and the U.S., many have focused on the state of relations between the two countries and the potential impact of this issue on the future of bilateral ties.

More

On July 15, Turkey commemorated the third anniversary of the heinous coup attempt by members of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and their affiliates who were nested within the Turkish state apparatus.

After months of deliberations, Turkey began to take delivery of the Russian S-400 missile defense system last week.

Ankara's confrontation with Washington on the delivery of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system has been one of Turkey's top foreign policy issues in the last several months.

The Istanbul rerun election fueled new developments in Turkish politics. There is an ongoing discussion on a range of issues including the presidential system and the prospect of new political parties. The newfound "self-confidence" of Kurdish nationalists deserves particular attention in this context. The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) takes credit for the Republican People's Party's (CHP) success in the March 31 and June 23 elections. As a matter of fact, it dates its influence back to the June 2018 elections.

US must curb its loss of credibility with allies

U.S. foreign policy makers must immediately take action to save the U.S.' image among its allies. If they fail to do so, Washington's credibility is likely to hit zero in the Middle East soon

More
US must curb its loss of credibility with allies
Can Trump prevent a train wreck in S-400 rift

Can Trump prevent a train wreck in S-400 rift?

Pesident Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Osaka, Japan marked a new chapter in the S-400 dispute. A textbook example of leader-to-leader diplomacy, that meeting paved the way for Trump lending support to the Turkish position on Patriot missiles, the Russian air defense system and the F-35 jet fighter program.

More

Since the beginning of Trump's presidency, the two leaders have pretty regularly communicated with each other in face-to-face meetings or through phone calls. This has been an important factor in determining bilateral ties in the last two-and-a-half years.

World leaders gathered in Osaka this week for the G20 summit. The summit will witness important side meetings between different heads of states on matters related to critical areas. One of those critical meetings will take place between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump. Given the looming crisis in the relations between the two countries, various unresolved issues in bilateral relations will be discussed in this meeting.

S-400s are not technical problem but political one, says expert

A few weeks ago, this column detailed how, in the last two decades, U.S. administrations have periodically made war plans and debated conflict scenarios. Both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations did it, and now the Donald Trump administration has come to a similar point of deliberating a military response against Iran.

Pentagon officials continue to maintain the same dysfunctional and hostile policies against Turkey. They are now using Turkey's purchase of the S-400 air defense systems from Russia as a pretext to pressure and threaten Turkey. The Pentagon's recently resigned chief Patrick Shanahan had warned his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar about economic sanctions and the abandonment of military cooperation between the two NATO allies.

With the S-400 missile defense system's delivery around the corner, tensions are escalating between Turkey and the United States. The Turks are committed to buying the Russian system despite Washington's threats. The Pentagon's most recent letter to Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, which included a long list of threats, did not change Ankara's mind either.

U.S. governments have been questioning the contribution of the NATO alliance for the last two decades. Although the U.S. pioneered the enlargement of the alliance, it mostly prefers to act unilaterally in its security policy, which creates problems for NATO.

The level of polemic in Istanbul's mayoral election campaign remained limited in the month of Ramadan. The general campaign discourse, though, is built on positive messages for both sides.

Insight Turkey, one of the leading academic journals in Turkey, in its latest issue: “The Balkans at a Crossroads: Domestic Issues, Regional Affairs, Global Powers, Changing Dynamics” tackles the latest events in the Balkans region and the world powers’ relations within the Balkan countries.

The United States took its first 'concrete step' to encourage Turkey to rethink its plan to purchase the S-400 missile defense system from Russia. Washington was going to exclude Turkish pilots from the F-35 fighter jet training program, Reuters reported last week.

The 2020 presidential elections in the U.S. will be one of the most important elections in recent history. It will not only show if the voters in the U.S. will give President Donald Trump another term in office but it will also have serious ramifications in international relations.

Istanbul's June 23 local election is about two weeks away. On the occasion of the Ramadan Bayram, or Eid al-Fitr, election campaigns have moved out of Istanbul, with the mayoral candidates preferring to address fellow citizens in various Anatolian provinces.

What is the history of designating the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States a “Terrorist Organization”? What are the implications of the Brotherhood label by the western governments? What does the Muslim Brotherhood allegation mean? How are Muslim civil society organizations threatened by the designation of the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization?