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.

The Istanbul elections always have a significance beyond Istanbul. With its social diversity, economic dynamism and population of 16 million, Istanbul's political atmosphere affects all of Turkey.

The mayoral race in Istanbul ended in democratic maturity as Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu finished at the top.

The United States is holding an international conference – in reality an economic workshop – in Bahrain on June 25-26 to launch the Middle East peace plan by encouraging investment and economic promises in the Palestinian territory.

The Western media's interest in Turkey has steadily increased, and this has two dimensions. First, they are establishing new media outlets in Turkey and becoming entrenched in the domestic market. Lately, the launch of a joint Turkish-language YouTube channel called +90 by the public international broadcasters of Germany, France, Britain and the U.S. has drawn attention. Another interesting development was the launch of a Turkish news website by the British online newspaper, The Independent.

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.

The Saudi-UAE alliance's risky ventures, which designate Iran as an archrival and Turkey as an adversary, makes them vulnerable to demands from the U.S.-Israel axis and undermine their international credibility

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.

Turkey has a very busy agenda ahead of itself for the month of June..

A head of next month's rerun elections in Istanbul, mayoral candidates from both electoral alliances are seeking to further an affirmative agenda.

Moscow should turn the current situation in Idlib into an internationally recognized political deal rather than another brutal victory for the Assad regime

On March 31, Turkey held local elections in a transparent manner that reflect its democratic maturity. The results showed that voters gave different messages to both the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

Idlib province is the only region under the control of the Syrian opposition. More than 3 million people, most of whom migrated from other parts of the country, live there. The tension has increased following the Bashar Assad regime's ground forces' operations in the region over the last several weeks.

What is the hijab ban all about? Does this regulation not contradict with the principle of freedom of religion? How is the ban legitimized? What was the reaction of the opposition parties? What will be done by Muslims?

Psychological edge is key to winning elections. Campaign strategists frequently attempt to promote morale among their supporters or dishearten their opponents. The same goes for the June 23 mayoral election in Istanbul.

The U.S. is concentrating too much on the Middle East, which may cost it dearly; it has already issues such as the trade war with China, the Venezuelan crisis and Russia's increasing global effectiveness to handle

The key to success for the candidates in the neck-and-neck race in Istanbul is to keep their supporters motivated and excited, while keeping their campaigns positive