Negotiations between Turkish and U.S. military officials regarding a safe zone in Syria ended this week with an agreement. This discussion has been going on at least seven months, following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.

After weeks of difficult diplomatic consultations and negotiations between diplomats and military officials from both sides, Ankara and Washington managed to reach a breakthrough on the situation in northeastern Syria. Turkish and American officials agreed on three item protocols that satisfy the fundamental concerns of both parties. The agreement includes the following items: "Rapid implementation of initial measures to address Turkey's security concerns," "Starting up a joint operations center in Turkey as soon as possible" and the "Creation of a safe zone and 'peace corridor' for the return of displaced Syrians to their country."

Turkey is hell-bent on neutralizing the terrorist threat next door. Neither the threat of sanctions nor the endlessly reheated Daesh story will convince the Turks to abort this mission

As expected, the National Security Council's most recent statement reiterated Turkey's commitment to combating terrorism. The communiqué made references to Turkish military operations in northern Iraq and the assassination of a Turkish diplomat in Erbil, criticized Interpol over the cancellation of arrest warrants for PKK leaders, urged NATO to act in line with the spirit of alliance and stressed Turkey's commitment to protecting its interests in the Eastern Mediterranean.

There is an ongoing debate on Syrian refugees in Istanbul, who are being asked to return to the provinces where they were registered. The media extensively covered complaints by Syrians about the 30-day grace period.

This study is designed to deliver background information, to lay bare the course of the S-400 procurement process, and to provide the reasoning to better understand the responses to the famous five “wh” and “how” questions.

There is a growing tendency among Western media outlets; they seek to answer what the West must do, given President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will remain in power for another four years. Believing that the risk of "losing Turkey" is higher than before, they advocate the "carrot and stick" approach. Let me say at the outset that this is a fruitless endeavor.

James Jeffrey, Washington's special representative for Syria, visited the Turkish capital Ankara last week to hold talks on the proposed safe zone in northern Syria..

Most regional and global powers have been oscillating between different positions and facing dilemmas in their foreign policy in the Syrian crisis due to the current comprehensive regional and global transformation.

The S-400 air defense system's delivery to Turkey has sparked debate among Western governments on Ankara's future treatment. The question at hand goes beyond concerns about the fate of Turkey-U.S. relations. This is much bigger than one key NATO ally removing another key ally from the joint F-35 fighter jet program.

Three years ago, on July 15, a military junta, led by members of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), attempted to overthrow Turkey's democratically elected government.

The Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) last week published a report on international media outlets and their operations in Turkey.

The ups and downs in Turkey-U.S. relations in the last two decades have generated a paradoxical situation for scholars and observers alike.

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.

The first week of July has had critical meaning for Turkish-American relations since 2003. What happened on July 4, 2003 has constituted one of the pillars of the Turkish people's perception of the U.S.

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