Istanbul

Putin Can’t Be Allowed to Re-Divide Europe

Moscow’s latest treaty proposals are just another attempt to usurp the sovereignty of its neighbors.

Bottom-Up Hope: Local Governments Bolster Religious Pluralism in Turkey

When powerful states and their proxies intensify religious persecution worldwide and democratic governments under a neo-isolationist spell look the other way, where can vulnerable religious minorities find...

Erdogan hopes to salvage relations with the Gulf to save Turkey’s economy

In a bid to shore up Turkey’s flailing economy and rescue its nosediving currency, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Doha on Monday in the hope that his Qatari allies can provide much-needed...

Turkey’s Council of Europe Voting Rights and Membership at Risk

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe announced today its decision to begin infringement procedures against Turkey for Ankara’s refusal to release Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala despite...

Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: November

Turkey is Collateral Damage in Erdoğan’s Hostage Diplomacy

His erratic policies scare away tourists and foreign capital.

Russia’s Power Games Extend to the Orthodox Church

Pushing back against Russia’s multipronged assault on the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which includes Putin and Erdogan’s coordinated pressure on an institution they see as posing a threat to their respective illiberal projects, requires devising and implementing a concerted transatlantic strategy.

Treasury Sanctions Jihadist Financiers in Turkey for the Seventh Time Since 2019

The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated five Turkey-based individuals on Thursday for providing a range of financial and travel facilitation services to al-Qaeda. The new designations — the seventh...

Businessman’s Extradition to U.S. Could Expose Turkish-Venezuelan Collusion to Evade Sanctions

Cape Verde’s constitutional court issued a ruling on September 7 paving the way for the extradition of Alex Saab, a U.S.-designated Colombian-born businessman whom U.S. prosecutors indicted in 2019 for...

U.S. Should Intensify Efforts to Extradite Turkish Money Laundering Suspect

An Austrian court on August 25 tentatively granted Ankara’s request to extradite Sezgin Baran Korkmaz, a Turkish businessman Austrian authorities arrested on June 19 at the request of the U.S. Department...

Erdogan’s Turkey is a key patron of global efforts to delegitimize Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been offering in recent months to mend relations and exchange ambassadors with Israel. Meanwhile, his government was busy helping convicted terrorist conspirator...

Turkey’s Anti-Kurdish Measures Violate Religious Freedom

Turkey has a long history of discrimination against its Kurdish citizens as well as restrictions against using the Kurdish language. While this systematic exclusion has drawn international attention, its...

Erdogan Escalates Turkish Campaign to Disenfranchise Six Million Pro-Kurdish Voters

Disenfranchising over 6 million pro-Kurdish voters and pushing some 40,000 party members out of democratic channels will hammer the final nail in the coffin of Turkey’s struggling democracy.

The Impact of the Ahwaz protests in Iran

Iran’s Ahwazi Arab minority on July 7 launched extensive anti-regime protests centered in the country’s western Khuzestan Province. Extreme water shortages affecting the Ahwaz were the catalyst for...

Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: Early July

U.S. Targets Turkey-Based Money Laundering Schemes With Links to Senior Turkish Officials

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Monday that it will seek to extradite Sezgin Baran Korkmaz, a Turkish businessman Austrian authorities arrested on June 19 for his alleged role in money laundering...

State Department Should Deliver an Honest Message about Turkey’s Religious Freedom Record

The US Department of State’s annual report on international religious freedom, released on May 12, documents the ongoing erosion of freedom of religion or belief in Turkey. The report echoes the concerns...

Erdogan’s Backing of Hamas Precludes Turkey’s Rapprochement With Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a call in December for better ties with Israel. “No surprise if Turkey-Israel relations normalize soon,” read the headline of a column in one of Turkey’s...

Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: Early May

Commerce Department Targets Former Turkish Banker for Evading Iran Sanctions

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security on May 5 announced it would deny export privileges to Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the former deputy general manager of Halkbank, Turkey’s second-largest...