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
Turkey Faces New Challenges Over Cyprus Negotiations between Nicosia and Moscow over gas reserves off the southern Cyprus coast are being watched with concern by Ankara, which does not accept Nicosia’s claim to full sovereignty over these reserves, writes Semih Idiz. Turkey
Erdogan's Kurdish PoliciesBreak From Turkey's Past Mustafa Akyol writes that Turkey's Kurdish policies represent a reorientation of Turkey's new political elite under the leadership of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey
Ocalan Calls For 'New Era' In Turkish-Kurdish Relations Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), calls for "armed members to move out of Turkey's borders." Turkey
Turkey’s Kurds Rally for Peace, But Mistrust Lingers A crowd of 600,000 turned out to celebrate Newroz and hear a message from Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), in support of Turkish-Kurdish peace talks, Sibel Utku Bila reports from Diyarbakir. Turkey
Israel-Turkey Strategic Ties Show Signs of Thawing Jean-Loup Samaan writes that the Israel-Turkey split is not really grounded in substance but rather in the personal ties of their leaders, and that a thaw may be in the works. Israel
Erdogan Softens Zionism Remarks As Obama Lands in Israel Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s attempt to clarify earlier remarks on Zionism may aim in part to repair ties with the United States, which have also been strained by Ankara's refusal to hand over an al-Qaeda official to US authorities, writes Tulin Daloglu. Israel
Resignation Signals New Low For Turkish Journalism Hasan Cemal, after 45 years as a journalist, loses his job because of government pressure. Turkey
The Death of Journalism in Turkey Cengiz Candar writes that when veteran Turkish journalist Hasan Cemal resigned on March 18 from his 15-year stint with daily Milliyet after it refused to print his latest article, it was the death of decent journalism in Turkey. Turkey
Turkey Miscalculates Syria Turkey's policies on Syria over the past two years have reduced Ankara's diplomatic leverage in the region, writes Semih Idiz. Turkey
Turkey in No Position To School Israel on Human Rights Until it comes terms with its own violations, Turkey should not offer lessons in human rights to other countries, writes Orhan Kemal Cengiz. Turkey
Turkey’s Kurdish Peace InitiativeLinked to Syria Turkey, both to protect itself from the potential negative consequences of regionalization of the Kurdish issue and to remove the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as a threat, had no choice but to seek peace with its own Kurds, writes Kadri Gursel. Turkey
Uncertainty Lingers Over Turkey'sNegotiations with Ocalan Tulin Daloglu writes that PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is expected to call for the end of armed struggle in Turkey, and asks what the state is promising in return and why the government is seeking Ocalan’s blessing. Turkey