Since the recent phone call between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump last Sunday, we have seen that the major issue to debate has become the U.S. decision to withdraw from Syria. The intensity of objections to U.S. withdrawal from the area and the U.S. "green light" for Turkey's operation raised several questions about the arguments and rationale behind such criticism.
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The primary purpose of the Turkish operation is to drive out terrorist groups threatening regional security and secure the area in line with international law
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This analysis mainly focuses on the unification of all Syrian opposition under the Syrian Interim Government and gives policy recommendations.
What are the main objectives of the operation? What is the scope of Operation Peace Spring? What is the background of the operation? How will the operational process work? What are the reactions from the international community? How can they be interpreted?
On Monday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump made a highly anticipated phone call to inform Turkey that U.S. troops would leave northeastern Syria, where the Turkish military was going to launch an incursion..
Turkey has been repeatedly emphasizing its determination to clear its border with Syria from terrorist elements. For this reason, Turkish officials have been trying to persuade their American counterparts to stop supporting the People's Protection Units (YPG)/Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and not to oppose its long-planned military operation.
Tensions between Turkey and the United States are re-escalating. Washington is inclined to delay the Aug. 7 agreement on the creation of a safe zone in northeastern Syria. In other words, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is effectively ignoring U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to establish a 20-mile safe zone and seeks to stall the process – as it did in Manbij.
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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in his address to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), in the opening ceremony of the new legislative year, clearly outlined Turkey's position concerning the east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria.
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After eight long years, the Syrian civil war remains a key issue for Turkey. The fight against terrorist groups, the refugee crisis and bilateral relations with the great powers are at the heart of Turkey's domestic politics and foreign policy...
The U.N. has unfortunately turned out to be a platform where the significance of multilateralism and global cooperation is increasingly ignored or even damaged
Israel's occupation of Palestine and constant attacks to the unarmed civilians prove the harm the country causes to the World peace, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said
There are three items on President Erdoğan's agenda: Turkey's request for support regarding the fate of Syrian refugees, Erdoğan's commitment to setting up a safe zone in northeastern Syria and his emphasis on injustices in the current world order. I believe that the Turkish president will touch upon those issues in his address to the U.N. General Assembly as well as bilateral meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel. Erdoğan's recent remarks about nuclear weapons relate to the search for a new world order, as encapsulated by the maxim: "The world is bigger than five." After all, revealing one's intention to become a nuclear power makes little sense if one indeed means it.
This week's attack on the facilities of Aramco, Saudi Arabia's national oil company, was no mere skirmish among proxies. Iran has allegedly fired missiles, loaded on drones, to strike at the heart of the Saudi oil industry. Although Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed the attack, already some fingers are pointing to Tehran. Hence a series of questions: have tensions in the Gulf, which have been escalating since May 2018, already spun out of control? Is the policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran giving way to war? Why did U.S. President Donald Trump escalate tensions right after sacking John Bolton, his hawkish national security adviser? What will be the Trump administration's military response to an attack that it considers a casus belli? As world leaders pack their bags for the United Nations General Assembly's opening session, the world is still trying to answer those questions.
Çankaya Palace in Ankara was home to a historic trilateral summit on Monday. The presidents of Turkey, Russia and Iran met for the fifth time in two years to discuss the situation in Idlib, refugees, the most recent developments in northeastern Syria and the proposed constitutional committee.
An important meeting was held between the leaders of Turkey, Iran and Russia in Ankara on Sept. 16. The three actors' positions were close in the last trilateral meeting. The leaders of the three countries agreed on the structure of the constitutional commission and reiterated their commitment to the territorial integrity of Syria. They also supported the idea of reducing the tensions in Idlib province.
Despite its ups and downs, the Astana Process is the only serious option currently playing a decisive role to create a permanent solution in the Syrian crisis
For the moment, it seems that there is no way to wake the European states and their media outlets up to the naked truth that the humanitarian crisis in Syria is not over and that refugees, fearing for their lives, are still fleeing the country in droves
The Syrian crisis is not something that can be handled solely through Turkish efforts; the region's biggest problem needs to be confronted by both external and internal stakeholders
Experts stress probability of Turkish military intervention in east of Euphrates as expectations from US not fulfilled yet
Experts discuss consequences of possible unilateral intervention by Turkey east of Euphrates River
In recent days, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's remarks added a new twist to this mix. On the one hand, he is laying the groundwork for his upcoming address to the United Nations General Assembly, conveying messages to relevant world leaders. At the same time, Erdoğan is unveiling his new road map for party politics. Two topics, i.e. emerging political movements and the safe zone/refugee debate, have been around for some time. The third issue, Turkey's intention to obtain nuclear warheads, is new.