It’s official: Turkey plans on converting the Hagia Sophia museum—for centuries, one of Christendom’s grandest basilicas—into a mosque.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
It is more than a century since Ottoman Turks carried out the genocide of approximately 1.5 million Armenians. They conducted the slaughter under the claim that the minority group cooperated with the Russian enemy. Now, Armenians are pushing Israel to recognize the same type of horror that happened to the Jewish people only decades later.
On April 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met in Moscow.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the delivery of Turkey’s disputed Russian S-400 missile defense systems could be earlier than initially planned, Hurriyet daily reported on Wednesday. Ankara’s purchase of the S-400s risks US sanctions and has further strained already tense relations with Washington. US officials are concerned over the incompatibility of the S-400s with NATO… Read more »
Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan suffered an electoral blow on Sunday, as his ruling AKP appeared headed for defeat in local elections.
As the Islamic State’s caliphate disappears from Syria’s map, the country is settling into a twilight reality of de facto division, in which a variety of low-burning insurgencies continue to claim lives.
US President Donald Trump announced that the US had defeated ISIS on December 19 and that the US would end its presence in Syria.
“At this point, [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan seems to be strongly committed to his deepening partnership with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, and is unlikely to be swayed by Washington’s positive or negative incentives.”
Turkey grows increasingly impatient regarding the situation in northern Syria. It has promised the establishment of a buffer zone between Turkey and the Kurds. How much longer will it wait? Can it execute a military offensive if the U.S. won’t permit?
He was referring to a “safe zone” concept that has been proposed for northern Syria in an area the US hopes to withdraw from soon.
For Turkey, control by what Ankara regards as the Syrian franchise of the PKK of a large swath of the 900-km.
Arab hatred of Turkey is so extreme that the last thing the Arab states wish to see is the return of the Ottoman Empire whose police tortured and killed them without mercy. This can and should lead to strange alliances.
US President Donald Trump appeared to slow down his decision to withdraw from Syria after meetings on December 30.
Israel would, of course, much prefer that the American forces remain in Syria, but their pullout is far from a tragedy and even provides a window of opportunity.
Turkey views the mostly Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria as a threat, similar to how Israel views Hezbollah, US envoy for Syria engagement James Jeffrey said last week.
