Turkey inks $5.1B in climate loans at COP31: What to know Ankara can count 10 loan deals worth $5.1 billion with four multilateral development banks so far at the UN climate summit, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Thursday. Turkey
Explainer Bilal Erdogan, floated as father’s possible successor, visits Lebanon: What to know Bilal Erdogan, the son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is in Lebanon for a three-day visit that will include meetings with officials and religious leaders, as well as stops in Sunni-majority cities. Lebanon
Turkey hosts Libya’s Hifter, Erdogan meets Tripoli PM as unity push gains pace Ankara is expanding ties with Libya’s eastern leadership while seeking to protect its agreements with Tripoli under a potential power-sharing arrangement. Turkey
Watchdog urges Turkey to tighten digital asset rules for $144B crypto economy A review of Turkey’s crypto-asset regulations by the Financial Stability Board acknowledged significant progress made by local authorities but called for further measures to address potential risks. Turkey
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Iran war shadows Turkey’s COP31 summit By Gabrielle Debinski In New York City, reporting on the Middle East
Newsletter: FutureVerse Does Middle East have Nvidia problem? By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
Misreading The 'Syria Transition Act' In Turkey The Senate Foreign Relations Committee bill does not signal the imminent arrival of US arms to the Syria opposition. Syria
Iran’s UN Ambassador Welcomes Geneva II Conference on Syria Mohammad Khazaee, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, discusses Iran’s position on Syria in an email interview with Al-Monitor. Turkey
Turkish-Kurdish Leader Cautious, Hopeful on Peace Plan Ahmet Turk, a pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party member, draws attention to a new legislation bringing municipalities under direct tutelage of governors, and argues that is in direct contradiction to the government’s Kurdish initiative. Turkey
AKP Wages Jihad Against Alcohol in Turkey The AKP’s draft law of aggressive alcohol restrictions aims not only to engineer an Islamic society but to prevent possible losses in its conservative electoral base. Turkey
Turkey’s Syria Policy: No Easy Answers Turkey’s Syria policies were not wrong, but poorly presented. Syria
Iraq to Simplify Visa Procedures For Foreign Oil Workers The Iraqi government has announced that it will simplify entry-visa and residency-permit procedures for foreign oil workers, following complaints that the current lengthy process deters investors. Iraq
Is Gulen Movement Against Peace With PKK? The Gulen Movement in Turkey is not against the peace process with the PKK, but is not on its bandwagon either. Turkey
Washington Relaxed About Prospect Of Erdogan Visit to Gaza US President Barack Obama seems confident that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won’t upset the Turkey-Israel rapprochement. Palestine
Vulgarity on Rise in Turkish Political Discourse Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the first to place CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the same boat of the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Turkey
Erdogan’s ‘Plan C’ Under Way If "plan C" means a constitutional process driven by Turkey's ruling AKP, yet marred by high tension, two interesting scenarios emerge. Turkey
As Assad’s Forces Take Control Of Qusair, What Comes Next? Now that the Syrian regime’s forces control half of the city of Qusair near Lebanon’s northern border, the balance seems to once again be shifting in the Syrian conflict. Israel
Erdogan Paints Himself Into Corner over Gaza After his meeting with US President Barack Obama, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan cannot seem to win on Gaza. Palestine