The current political climate in Türkiye and Greece, coupled with the shared commitment of political leaders to pursue a positive agenda, presents a crucial opportunity for a more constructive dialogue in Turkish-Greek relations. Having faced the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, earthquakes, wildfires, economic crises and the adverse repercussions and risks of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine as well as the escalating tensions in Gaza, which could impact the entire region, the two neighboring countries should, at the very least, acknowledge the imperative need to address their issues through sincere political dialogue.

Insight Turkey has included in this issue valuable research that both reflects on Turkish foreign policy from historical perspectives and looks ahead to the future. This exploration is part of our third special issue of the year, commemorating the Centennial of the Republic of Türkiye and unveiling the vision of the Century of Türkiye. We are confident that the thought-provoking and enlightening discussions within this issue will greatly benefit our esteemed readers.

This paper explores Italy-Türkiye relations and food diplomacy’s role in shaping international relations, drawing parallels between Harry S. Truman’s 1951 decision to provide emergency grain aid to India and current global diplomacy, especially amid the Ukraine crisis. Truman’s choice, driven by humanitarian concerns and India’s significance during the early Cold War, is examined. The article also explores how Türkiye employs food diplomacy, exemplified by the Black Sea Grain Initiative, to bolster its regional and global influence. It delves into complex Italian-Turkish relations amid the Ukraine conflict, emphasizing NATO membership and food diplomacy’s role in shaping their future ties.

The political dynamics within the American Congress and the activities of lobbying groups have long been significant factors negatively impacting Turkish-American relations. Since the 1970s, Congress has constrained the broad authority of the White House in foreign policy, leading to decisions against Türkiye on issues such as Cyprus and Armenia. In recent years, Congress has extended its influence into areas like Syria and defense cooperation.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s address at the 78th United Nations General Assembly provided a profound insight into the global and regional priorities that guide Turkish foreign policy. In an era marked by escalating global and regional power rivalries, growing global uncertainties and a changing regional geopolitical landscape prevalent with security challenges, Türkiye faces the imperative of redefining its foreign policy.

I am in New York City, where the heart of diplomacy is beating, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. This year’s general debate theme, which takes place after the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) expansion and the G-20 summit in New Delhi, India, will be “rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity.”

This week, the book "The Last Politician," authored by Franklin Foer, sheds light on President Biden's first two years in power and his approach to domestic and foreign crises. Foer, who had relatively broad access to White House officials, emphasizes that Biden is the exact opposite of "anti-politician" figures like Obama and Trump, lacking Washington experience. With extensive Senate experience, Biden is a persistent politician who seeks compromise with his political rivals, standing against the prevailing notion of viewing Washington politics as something negative. In American politics, where politicians who promised to "drain the Washington swamp" have often gained an advantage, Biden stands out as one of the recent politicians demonstrating that classic compromise politics can be successful.

Türkiye has been facing many vital challenges since the end of the Cold War, especially in the last decade. Türkiye tried to overcome these challenges together with its allies. There was a high level of cooperation between Ankara and its Western allies during the first decade of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) governments.

Successfully managing the risk of a confrontation in Syria, the two leaders strengthened their cooperation in a broad range of areas, including energy, tourism and defense. As the bilateral trade volume reached $69 billion, the two nations set a new target of $100 billion. Against the backdrop of the construction of Türkiye’s first nuclear power plant in Akkuyu, there are ongoing talks over the possibility of building another plant in Sinop.

BRICS was established as an economic bloc by the fastest-growing countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. BRICS has positioned itself as an economic bloc and an alternative to the G-7, the economic bloc of the most advanced countries, since the first summit held in 2009. While the G-7 represents the advanced Western world and the North, BRICS represents the non-Western world and the Global South.

The candidates competing to clinch the Republican Party's nominee for the 2024 presidential election faced the voters in the first debate of the primary season on Wednesday night. Former President Trump, who is significantly ahead in public opinion polls, did not participate in the debate, allowing the other candidates to vie for attention. Former Vice President Mike Pence and former UN Representative Nikki Haley delivered standout performances in the debate, where Trump's influence was felt on almost every issue. Although these two candidates had served in the Trump administration, they refrained from directly criticizing the former president, even though they garnered applause from the audience, many of whom had paid to attend.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Budapest on Sunday, along with heads of state and government from the Turkic states, the Balkans and Qatar, on the occasion of Hungary's national day.

Türkiye has continued where it left off after the last presidential and parliamentarian elections. The Turkish political leadership has been continuously struggling to increase its strategic autonomy in international politics and to build different axes of stability in regions, reflecting its multilateral foreign policy understanding. When looking at the most recent visit to Ankara and Turkish visits to other countries, we can see that Türkiye will continue to invest in regionalism and minilateralism in the near future.

There is a widely held belief that Turkish foreign policy is currently undergoing a significant shift. Particularly in the aftermath of the presidential elections on May, a noticeable process has unfolded wherein Türkiye has been actively working to mend its relationships with Europe.

Legal rulings of the European Convention on Human Rights clearly show that the burning of the Quran is contrary to the Convention. Here is the legal aspect.

Russia’s suspension of the Black Sea grain deal continues to capture the global media’s attention as that decision disproportionately hurts African nations. Having hosted 17 African heads of state and government last week, the Kremlin used the discourse of “opposing new Western colonialism together” at the Russia-Africa Summit – where Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged free grains to Africa.