Questions tagged [turkey]

Questions relating to the government or politics of the Republic of Türkiye. Formerly and commonly known as Turkey.

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6 votes
1 answer
113 views

Have US forces not pulled back from the Turkey-Syria border (along the entirety of it)? If so, when did this turn in policy happen?

I somewhat vaguely recalled that Trump agreed to a pullback of sorts of US forces from parts of northern Syria, reported in the press at the time as practically complete in that area: Amid growing ...
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16 votes
3 answers
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Why does Sweden support Kurdish separatists in Turkey?

Turkey objects to Sweden gaining NATO membership on the grounds that Sweden supports "terrorism," namely Kurdish separatist fighters. Why has Sweden of all countries taken such an interest ...
4 votes
1 answer
284 views

Which NATO countries sided with France in the 2020 Courbet frigate incident?

Back in 2020, according to French sources: the relationship between Paris and Ankara was severely affected by a serious naval incident on June 10, in which a Turkish vessel threatened a French ...
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3 votes
1 answer
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Why would some Turkish official saying that the "Mahdi will return" be reason for resignation nowadays?

In the rather religiously inclined AKP government, I'm curious how credible this resignation reason is: SADAT, officially the SADAT International Defense Consultancy, describes itself on its website ...
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5 votes
2 answers
478 views

What is the building code in the Turkish region hit by the recent earthquake?

I saw some pictures of the destruction caused by the earthquake that it the Southern region of Turkey and part of Syria in February 2023. I noticed that some modern building collapsed while other ...
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27 votes
3 answers
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Why is Turkey campaigning to get their name changed to Türkiye in English but not other languages?

The US Embassy recently announced the following: The State Department will start spelling Turkey as "Türkiye" in diplomatic and formal settings. The name change was approved by the U.S. ...
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0 votes
1 answer
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If Turkish parliament wanted to ratify the Swedish and Finnish NATO applications, when, between now and July 1, would it be able to do so?

If Turkish parliament wanted to ratify the Swedish and Finnish NATO Accession Protocols then when, between now and July 1, would it be able to do so? Considerations include the following: Parliament ...
0 votes
2 answers
418 views

Why doesn't Turkey trigger NATO article 5 in response to the Istanbul bombings?

Turkey recently launched Operation Claw-Sword against Kurdish separatists that they say are responsible for the Istanbul bombing on 13 November. It is a solo operation however. Why doesn't Turkey ...
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What evidence of US involvement in the terrorist attack in Istanbul was provided by Turkey?

As writen in this article Turkey rejects US condolences for Istanbul terror attack. In context of this statement: Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said that Türkiye had found out where the ...
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2 answers
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Would Sweden and Turkey as members of the NATO be a sort of follow-up on the 1739 Swedish-Ottoman alliance against the Empire of Russia? [closed]

From Wikipedia, 1739 in Sweden Sweden form an alliance with the Ottoman Empire against the Empire of Russia. This is the first alliance between the Ottoman Empire and a Christian nation. (This last ...
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5 votes
3 answers
493 views

Why do Turkey and Azerbaijan have very close relations even though they are Sunni and Shia respectively?

In general, we see that Sunni and Shia sects in Islam do not get along very well. Why do Turkey and Azerbaijan have very close relations even though they are Sunni and Shia, respectively?
3 votes
1 answer
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Why would Gazprom operate (the maintenance of) TurkStream through a Dutch subsidiary?

According to Gazprom (as quoted by RFERL) the Dutch government has suspended the license of South Stream Transport B.V., which apparently is a Gazprom subsidiary registered in the Netherlands. South ...
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4 votes
1 answer
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Would transporting parts for a military radar instead of "missile parts" aboard a passenger aircraft make any difference under international law?

According to Wikipedia: On 10 October 2012, Turkish Air Force F-16s intercepted a Syrian Air Airbus A320, flight RB442 from Moscow to Damascus, in Turkish airspace and forced it to land at Esenboğa ...
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12 votes
2 answers
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Where are the ships with Ukrainian grain?

Recently, I've read an article on Politico about those ships with grain: "Excluding Turkey as the mediator country, almost all the grain exported from Ukraine is flowing not to the poorest ...
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2 votes
1 answer
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Why doesn't Iraq just blockade the Bashiqa base if they really want the Turks gone from there?

Apparently there's a seven year dispute between the Iraqi central government and Turkey over the Turkish base at Bashiqa (near Mosul) located at about 150 km from the Turkish border. Seemingly there ...
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1 vote
1 answer
289 views

Why could Turkey get rid of Military's interference in Politics but Pakistan couldn't?

Turkey and Pakistan had a similar situation before Erdogan came to power. The military and Judiciary banded together to ban Abdullah Gul from politics. The military staged a coup in 2016. However, ...
5 votes
1 answer
142 views

What happened to the previous (2019) buffer zone that Turkey supposedly had in Syria?

Admittedly I'm confused about the renewed demands of Erdogan for a 30-km buffer zone in Syria. Erdogan has repeatedly said over the past weeks that he’s planning a major military operation to create ...
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1 vote
1 answer
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How would the Istanbul Canal allow Turkey to bypass the Montreux Convention?

According to multiple sources as cited by Wikipedia (such as this, or this), the now-under-construction Istanbul Canal would allow Turkey to bypass the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the ...
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1 answer
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Why has president Erdogan suddenly decided to mend relations with Israel? [closed]

Why has president Erdogan suddenly decided to mend relations with Israel? What kind of advantage is he looking for? Is he looking for a favor from the USA or assistance from Israel's defense industry? ...
6 votes
1 answer
186 views

What is the content of the tweets that Canan Kaftancıoğlu was sentenced for?

There are lots of articles writing about the prosecution of Canan Kaftancıoğlu. For example this, this and this all come right after their wikipedia page when I search her name. I'm not doing a very ...
-4 votes
1 answer
330 views

Could a fast-track migration to NATO-2.0 be a solution to Turkey's veto for Finland and Sweden? [closed]

As you likely know Finland and Sweden have recently applied for NATO membership, in order to be protected from Russia in case they get attacked like Ukraine. But Turkey has announced that they will ...
37 votes
3 answers
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What are Turkey's objections to Finland and Sweden joining NATO?

I was puzzled by this move by Turkey to block swift approval of Sweden and Finland to NATO Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO on Wednesday in another step toward the Western military ...
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-1 votes
1 answer
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Turkey getting weapons from Russia [closed]

Why hasn't Turkey been penalized for buying missiles from Russia, despite the fact it is a member of NATO? And is Turkey planning to invade other countries with these weapons?
17 votes
3 answers
1k views

To what extent do Scandinavian countries support the Kurds (PKK and YPG)?

Turkish President Erdogan is opposed to Finland and Sweden's inclusion to NATO because of their alleged support of the PKK. He said Scandinavian countries are "guesthouses for terrorist ...
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3 votes
1 answer
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What is the basic difference between Turkish and Sri Lankan presidential form of democracy?

What is the basic difference between the Sri Lankan and the Turkish system of the presidency? For instance, The Sri Lankan president lost the majority in the parliament. As a result, the political ...
2 votes
0 answers
56 views

Is Erdogan using Islam as a political tool to influence the masses or manipulate the government's foreign policy? [closed]

He right now is living like a Emperor, yes the definition here is right. Better than Putin right now. It has been said that he bought his own officials, deputies, judges, advocates etc. The country is ...
-1 votes
1 answer
472 views

What kind of gain did president Erdogan achieve from Hagia Sophia?

What kind of political or diplomatic gain did president Erdogan achieve from Hagia Sophia's conversion to a mosque? Was it the demand of the majority of Turkish people living in Istanbul or Turkey? ...
17 votes
4 answers
4k views

Why is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan allowing the Turkish Lira to plunge?

If you have been into Turkish Lira recently, you would be shocked you see that the Turkish Lira's value has been lost more than two times as compare to its value 2 years ago. Now, there have been ...
2 votes
1 answer
96 views

How did Turkish media change their tune on al-Sisi (allegedly) in lockstep with the new Turkish foreign policy on Egypt?

It's fairly well known that government/AKP-aligned actors have taken an increased share of control of Turkish media, be it directly through acquisitions or through advertisement revenue. I'm curious ...
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1 vote
2 answers
401 views

Why couldn't Turkey become a developed country?

Developed country A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC)) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed ...
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

Which EU member countries are opposed to Turkey's accession to the EU?

As far as I know, France is a strong opposer of Turkey's full membership in the EU. What other EU member countries are opposed to Turkey's accession to the EU?
15 votes
2 answers
4k views

Why does Russia choose to depend on the Bosporus Strait for shipping?

According to the Wikipedia article on the proposed Istanbul Canal, it is said that the Bosporus has nearly 3 times the amount of ship traffic as the Suez Canal. Presumably this ship traffic comes ...
9 votes
2 answers
344 views

Why would Turkey leave the Istanbul Convention (now)?

As of today, Turkey appears to have withdrawn from the Istanbul Convention, an effort by the Council of Europe to create a standard legal approach to battling violence against women and domestic abuse....
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4 votes
1 answer
258 views

S-400 technology transfer to Turkey

As far as I know, the Turkish proposal to purchase Patriot PAC-3 was refused because Turkey wanted a technology transfer, but the USA didn't want to. Am I correct? If I am correct, then what is going ...
3 votes
2 answers
499 views

Do users of F-16s need the USA's permission to use them in attack roles?

Document reveals official US position on F-16s Are users of F-16 fighter planes obliged to take the USA's permission to use them in attack roles? I am especially curious about Turkey and Pakistan. P....
2 votes
0 answers
96 views

What is the basic difference between Turkey using S-400 vs India purchasing S-400 or Greece using S-300? [duplicate]

See: Why is there different policies from the USA for Turkey vs Greece/ India? My above question was closed. So, I am reformulating the question and posting it again. Russian S-300s used by 3 NATO ...
-5 votes
1 answer
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Why is there different policies from the USA for Turkey vs Greece/ India? [closed]

Russian S-300s used by 3 NATO member countries According to the above link, the Russian S-300 missile defense system is being used by three NATO countries: Greece, Bulgaria, and Slovakia. the USA ‘...
11 votes
3 answers
4k views

Is Turkey an indispensable partner in NATO?

I know that Turkey has the second-largest army in NATO after the USA. Turkey also controls the Bosphorus strait. But, is Turkey an indispensable partner in NATO? Can NATO function properly without ...
-2 votes
1 answer
200 views

Grey Wolves and NATO

''In the late 1970s, former military prosecutor and Turkish Supreme Court Justice Emin Değer documented collaboration between the Grey Wolves, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and Counter-...
5 votes
0 answers
160 views

what was the fundamental reason that Erdogan had been able to defeat secularists in the country?

Secularists ruled Turkey for a long period of time. Why did they gradually lose control of Turkey's politics? What has been the root cause of their influence gradually waned?
4 votes
3 answers
391 views

Why is Turkey allied with Azerbaijan instead of with Armenia?

In the current conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Turkey supports the latter. What made them choose one over the other?
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2 votes
4 answers
344 views

Can the European Union defend its geopolitical interests militarily in the east Mediterranean against Turkey?

The latest deployment of Greek, French and Turkish warships in the east Mediterranean is probably only military sabre-rattling. But I wonder whether the EU would actually be able to effectively defend ...
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6 votes
1 answer
517 views

Why has President Erdoğan threatened UAE when Turkey itself has diplomatic relations with Israel?

Turkey may recall ambassador in UAE, suspend diplomatic ties, Erdoğan says Why has President Erdoğan threatened the UAE when Turkey itself has diplomatic relations with Israel?
-5 votes
2 answers
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Why is the Hagia Sophia decision of Turkey attracting so much attention around the world? [closed]

In Spain, there are numerous mosques converted into churches. TRT compiled a list of Islamic landmarks in Greece which were converted into various things including an adult film studio. In India, they ...
7 votes
1 answer
296 views

Has AKP ever failed to pass any bill after losing majority in Turkish Parliament?

In the 2018 Turkish parliamentary election, Justice and Development Party (AKP) won 295 seats out of 600 and lost majority in the Turkish Parliament. On the other hand, the People's Alliance they ...
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2 votes
1 answer
339 views

Why did Turkey reject the Chinese FD-2000 and then purchase the Russian S-400?

Chinese firm wins Turkey's missile defense system tender Turkey cancels $3.4 billion missile defense system tender: official This analysis says that Turkey rejected using a Chinese missile defense ...
3 votes
0 answers
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Has Turkey made any demands for the EU to meet so they keep the refugees?

Brief context Now lately, I have been watching the news, and the President of Turkey had a meeting in Brussels to negotiate further conditions with the NATO and EU. European Countries Stances... As ...
2 votes
2 answers
555 views

Are there any laws that would oblige the EU to assist an EU-member that is attacked by a non-member

Assuming either a limited conflict or a full scale war: What optional actions can the EU take to assist a member state Are there any laws that would oblige the EU to assist a member-state with ...
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17 votes
6 answers
7k views

Why doesn't the EU use its economic power to deal with Turkey's demands?

Despite Turkey having a (in comparison) weak economy, the European Union seems incapable of putting them into their place. As far as I can tell, there is no reason to fear a military conflict (NATO), ...
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28 votes
2 answers
6k views

Why has Turkey "opened the floodgates" for migrants to the EU?

Over the past few days, Turkey has reportedly relaxed restrictions on the movement of migrants travelling through the country into the European Union via the Greek border, allowing the hundreds of ...
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