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.

When the discussion started between Turkey and the U.S. regarding a 'safe zone', many considered it a possible turning point in relations. The mutual mistrust in Syria and an escalating divergence of opinions between the two countries throughout the Syrian civil war had derailed relations more than any other issue in the last decade.

The status of more than 3.6 million temporary Syrian asylum seekers across Turkey has been one of the most controversial political issues being discussed by the Turkish people and politicians in the last few weeks..

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 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.

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.

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.

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

The growing tension between the U.S. and Iran is in the spotlight in our region. Washington is approaching Iran with a policy of "maximum pressure." They have not only strengthened the sanctions but also sent an aircraft carrier to the Gulf.

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.

It is now almost a ritual of U.S. administrations to escalate tension with Iran. At least in the last three administrations we have seen similar forms of escalations between the two countries. During the Bush administration, Iran became part of the axis of evil and there were speculations and rumors that if things do not go so terribly in Iraq the next target will be Iran.

Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated dangerously over the past week. Although both sides deny that war is imminent, a violent confrontation grows more likely with every passing day.

Over the last five years, Turkey-U.S. ties have gone through one of the most turbulent periods in the long history of relations between the two countries. Despite previous crises, seldom have we seen so many incidents over such a short period of time.

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

Debates and discussions regarding Iran have spanned years in Washington. From the "axis of evil" to "Sunni-Shiite equilibrium" and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to the "maximum pressure" campaign, there have been a variety of different positions and policies offered by the last three administrations in the White House.

In a quest to assure stability in the region, Turkey has to find new, more active, regional partners and maintain its opposition against the unilateral policies of foreign players