President Abdullah Gül hosts the presidents of Israel and Palestine in Ankara today. But this is not an ordinary meeting. Gül will bring the two leaders together at the Çankaya presidential palace for the first time in history, just weeks ahead of talks in the U.S. city of Annapolis to find common ground in […]
A European embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara brings together diplomats, politicians, academics and media members over luncheons. And these gatherings are organized as key developments occur. Everyone speaks freely in these hot and lively discussions. But speeches are off the record, the cost of speaking freely… So I will neither give the ambassador’s […]
German Ambassador to Turkey Eckart Cuntz asked something unusual of the General Staff a while ago. The ambassador was seeking permission to attend a funeral ceremony held for one the soldiers killed by the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists.
Previously, Cuntz had attended the funeral ceremony of the Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink. This […]
Regarding Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statements to seek a compromise on the presidential candidate, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal makes the following assessment, “He caused the crisis; now he confesses his regret.”On his way to the Bartın/Kastamonu campaign meeting, Baykal answered the questions we asked with Fikret Bila in the helicopter. […]
Forcing the electorate toward a ‘democratic’ or ‘republican’ dilemma may further increase polarization in the country.
To force the electorate into a ‘democratic’ or ‘republican’ dilemma may further increase polarization in the country. Mind-boggling news about the July 22 elections is pouring in from Anatolia and Thrace. Sources from the ruling Justice and Development Party […]