Turkey Letter June 26, 2017

Foreign Policy

  • U.S. Will Take Weapons From Kurds After Islamic State Defeat: Turkey
  • Turkey’s Erdogan says Arab demands on Qatar unlawful
  • Turkey Sends Military Reinforcements Into Northern Syria
  • Greek, Turkish leaders meet on tensions over Aegean flyovers
  • Turkish side emphasizes guarantee system ahead of key Cyprus conference

Economy & Energy

  • Turkish company plans textile jobs in North Carolina
  • Pipelining for Turkish Stream has begun, Russian President
  • Russia ups wheat exports to Turkey after trade row ends
  • Why Erdogan Is Flooding Turkey’s Economy With Credit

Domestic Politics

  • Ruling AKP opts to limit criticism off main opposition CHP’s ‘justice march’ for now
  • Court orders not to release six suspects, including Altan brothers and Ilicak, in FETO ‘media leg’ case
  • Turkey LGBT: Police stifle Istanbul Gay Pride rally
  • Main opposition leader wants a ‘tension free’ Turkey

Foreign Policy

U.S. Will Take Weapons From Kurds After Islamic State Defeat: Turkey

The United States has told Turkey it will take back weapons supplied to the Kurdish YPG militia in northern Syria after the defeat of Islamic State, Ankara said on Thursday, seeking to address Turkish concerns about arming Kurds on its border.

New York Times, U.S. Will Take Weapons From Kurds After Islamic State Defeat: Turkey, June 22, 2017


Turkey’s Erdogan says Arab demands on Qatar unlawful

President Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday dismissed calls for Turkey to close a military base in Qatar and said a wider list of demands issued by four Arab states was an unlawful intervention against the Gulf emirate’s sovereignty.

Reuters, Turkey’s Erdogan says Arab demands on Qatar unlawful June 25, 2017


Turkey Sends Military Reinforcements Into Northern Syria

Turkey has sent new military reinforcements including troops, vehicles and equipment into northern Syria, a war monitoring group and rebel and Kurdish sources said on Wednesday.

New York Times, Turkey Sends Military Reinforcements Into Northern Syria, June 21, 2017


Greek, Turkish leaders meet on tensions over Aegean flyovers

Greece’s prime minister told his Turkish counterpart Monday that airspace violations over the Aegean must stop as they increase the risk of a military accident in the sea between the two uneasy neighbors and NATO allies.

The Washington Post, Greek, Turkish leaders meet on tensions over Aegean flyovers, June 19, 2017


Turkish side emphasizes guarantee system ahead of key Cyprus conference

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has stressed the importance of the guarantees system and emphasized that the Turkish side will not accept pre-conditions voiced by Greek Cyprus ahead of the crucial upcoming meeting in Crans-Montana in Switzerland on June 28.

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkish side emphasizes guarantee system ahead of key Cyprus conference, June 20, 2017


Economy & Energy

Turkish company plans textile jobs in North Carolina

A textile company in Turkey plans to reopen an old textile plant in North Carolina, creating as many as 260 jobs over three years.

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkish company plans textile jobs in North Carolina, June 21, 2017


Pipelining for Turkish Stream has begun, Russian President

Russian President Vladimir Putin held phone talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan aboard an installation vessel on June 23, telling him that work on the Turkish Stream pipeline has started in its deep-water section.

Hurriyet Daily News, Pipelining for Turkish Stream has begun, Russian President Putin tells Erdogan, June 23, 2017


Russia ups wheat exports to Turkey after trade row ends

Russia is signing new wheat export contracts with Turkey without any price premiums after the resolution of a trade dispute between the two countries, analysts and traders said.

Reuters, Russia ups wheat exports to Turkey after trade row ends, June 23, 2017


Why Erdogan Is Flooding Turkey’s Economy With Credit

In Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hunt for domestic enemies, even the invisible hand of the marketplace is getting cuffed.

Bloomberg, Why Erdogan Is Flooding Turkey’s Economy With Credit, June 21, 2017


Domestic Politics

Ruling AKP opts to limit criticism off main opposition CHP’s ‘justice march’ for now

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has decided to limit its criticism of the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) “justice march” in the coming period.

Hurriyet Daily News, Ruling AKP opts to limit criticism of main opposition CHP’s ‘justice march’ for now, June 23, 2017


Court orders not to release six suspects, including Altan brothers and Ilicak, in FETO ‘media leg’ case

Istanbul court ruled on June 23 to remand in custody all “media leg” suspects – including journalists Nazlı Ilıcak and Mehmet Altan and novelist Ahmat Altan – on trial in over alleged links to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), widely believed to have been behind the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt, Doğan News Agency has reported.

Hurriyet Daily News, Court orders not to release six suspects, including Altan brothers and Ilicak, in FETO ‘media leg’ case, June 23, 2017


Turkey LGBT: Police stifle Istanbul Gay Pride rally

Police in the Turkish city of Istanbul have thwarted attempts by organizers to hold a banned Gay Pride march.

BBC News, Turkey LGBT: Police stifle Istanbul Gay Pride rally, June 25, 2017


Main opposition leader wants a ‘tension-free’ Turkey

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said that he wants a Turkey free of tension.

Hurriyet Daily News, Main opposition leader wants a ‘tension-free’ Turkey, June 24, 2017