Turkey

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Receb Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, was once seen as a political breath of fresh air and a beacon of change in the Middle East. Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia and other countries in the region were locked into an unhealthy political gridlock. The […]

censorship

The End of Press Freedom in Turkey?

contributors

By Joris Leverink | (Inter Press Service) | – – ANKARA, Turkey (IPS) – Days after the 1 November general elections in Turkey, Beyza Kural, a reporter with the independent press agency Bianet, rushed to Istanbul University to cover a stand-off between protesting students and the police. At the scene, Kural was harassed and manhandled […]

Bashar al-Assad

Putin: Turkey was protecting ISIL oil Smuggling; Russia urges Assad-Kurdish Alliance

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday in Paris that his government had intelligence that the reason Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet last week was to protect oil smuggling from Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) through Turkey. Putin said, “”We have every reason to think that the […]

Dissent

Shooting of pro-Kurdish Human Rights Lawyer Deepens Turkey’s Political Crisis

contributors

GlobalVoices.org | – – On November 28, Tahir Elçi, one of Turkey's most prominent pro-Kurdish lawyers, was holding a press conference close to the very same minaret he referenced in his tweet above, explaining that the people of Turkey's Kurdish-populated East were tired of conflict and recurrent government military operations in the region. Moments after […]

censorship

Turkey’s Coup against Press, own Generals over Arms Supplies to Syrian Militants

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Turkey has jailed two very prominent journalists for publishing video last May of a January, 2014, Turkish intelligence convoy of weapons to Syrian militants. When I say prominent, I mean prominent. They are Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of the Cumhuriyet newspaper, and Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul. […]

Economy

Turkey reels as Putin imposes Stiff Economic Sanctions

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Russian sanctions announced by President Vladimir Putin on Saturday could have a severe impact on the Turkish economy. It is not clear whether President Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu did not expect this severe a reaction to the shoot-down of a Russian fighter […]

Russia

Are Putin’s Economic Sanctions on Turkey the end of a Golden Age in Moscow-Ankara Relations?

contributors

By Alexander Titov | (The Conversation) | – – In locking horns over Syria, Russia and Turkey are playing out the latest chapter in a rivalry that has spanned centuries. Since the 1600s the two have lurched between conflict and uneasy friendship. But the war of words that has erupted since Turkey shot down a […]

Featured

Putin: Turkey supports Radicalism & We may have to Respond, hence Tourism Ban

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday explained his rationale for asking Russian tourists to leave Turkey, and it is ominous. He anticipates that there may be further “incidents” between Turkey and Russia over Syria policy, and that Moscow may be constrained to “respond.” In that case, […]

Russia

Boycotts as Russia seethes against Turkey after Shootdown

contributors

By Tom Balmforth | ( RFE/RL) | – – MOSCOW — Vladimir Putin said there would be “serious consequences” after Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian warplane on November 24. True to the Russian president’s word, Moscow has issued a slew of retaliatory measures and proposals following the incident along the Syrian-Turkish border. The […]