Foreign Policy
- Turkey calls for a ‘new beginning’ with Armenia
- NATO foreign ministers’ meeting to take place in Antalya
- Turkey complains of French reluctance in anti-terror cooperation
Economy and Energy
- Turkey cuts key rate as inflation slows, political pressure mounts
- EBRD slashes growth estimate for Turkey
- Turkey agrees deal with London Stock Exchange
Domestic Politics
- Erdogan Holds First Cabinet Meeting as Turkey’s President
- Parliament acquits four ex-ministers on corruption, but vote stirs ruling AKP
- Turkey Threatens to Block Social Media Over Released Documents
- Turkish daily probed over publication of Charlie cartoons
- Top body initiates yet another mass purge of Turkey’s judiciary
Foreign Policy
Turkey calls for a ‘new beginning’ with Armenia
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has called on all Armenians to jointly seek ways to resolve their historical differences with Turkey, stressing that it is a must for Turks and Armenians to “engage in humane relations and to recognize each other in light of 800 years of common history.”
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Hurriyet Daily News, January 20, 2015, Turkey calls for a ‘new beginning’ with Armenia
NATO foreign ministers’ meeting to take place in Antalya
Turkey will host a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in the southern province of Antalya between May 13 and 14. The fact that this meeting will be held in Antalya demonstrates the importance that Turkey, as an ally of 63 years, attaches to NATO’s undertakings.
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Hurriyet Daily News, January 15, 2015, NATO foreign ministers’ meeting to take place in Antalya
Turkey complains of French reluctance in anti-terror cooperation
Paris has been reluctant in anti-terrorism cooperation following last week’s deadly attacks in France by militants with international links, according to the Turkish authorities.
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Hurriyet Daily News, January 13, 2015, Turkey complains of French reluctance in anti-terror cooperation
Economy and Energy
Turkey cuts key rate as inflation slows, political pressure mounts
Turkey’s Central Bank lowered its main interest rate by 50 basis points yesterday in response to slowing inflation and in the face of increased political pressure for softer monetary policy before a June parliamentary election.
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Hurriyet Daily News, January 20, 2015, Turkey cuts key rate as inflation slows, political pressure mounts
EBRD slashes growth estimate for Turkey
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has cut its 2015 growth estimate for Turkey from 3.2 percent to 3 percent, citing weaknesses in external demand and lower spending by Russian tourists as potential negative factors.
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Hurriyet Daily News, January 20, 2015, EBRD slashes growth estimate for Turkey
Turkey agrees deal with London Stock Exchange
Borsa Istanbul (BIST) has announced the signing of a partnership agreement with London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) covering derivatives and index products. Under the terms of the partnership agreement, the London Stock Exchange Derivatives Market (LSEDM) will offer trading in futures and options on the BIST 30 Index and on leading Turkish stocks.
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Hurriyet Daily News, January 13, 2015, Turkey agrees deal with London Stock Exchange
Domestic Politics
Erdogan Holds First Cabinet Meeting as Turkey’s President
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan became Turkey’s first head of state in more than a decade to head a cabinet meeting, marking his latest attempt to expand the powers of his office and transform the country’s political system.
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Wall Street Journal, January 19, 2015, Erdogan Holds First Cabinet Meeting as Turkey’s President
Parliament acquits four ex-ministers on corruption, but vote stirs ruling AKP
Turkey’s parliament has acquitted four ex-ministers who faced graft charges, thanks to the votes of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputies. A number of AKP deputies, however, broke party lines, infuriating the leadership while surprising most observers.
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Hurriyet Daily News, January 20, 2015, Parliament acquits four ex-ministers on corruption, but vote stirs ruling AKP
Turkey Threatens to Block Social Media Over Released Documents
Turkish officials threatened to shut down Twitter in the country unless the social-media company blocked the account of a left-wing newspaper that had circulated documents about a military police raid on Turkish Intelligence Agency trucks that were traveling to Syria last January.
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New York Times, January 16, 2015, Turkey Threatens to Block Social Media Over Released Documents
Turkish daily probed over publication of Charlie cartoons
Turkish prosecutors launched an investigation into daily Cumhuriyet on Jan. 15, a day after the newspaper published a selection of four pages of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s first issue since last week’s attack that claimed 12 lives.
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Hurriyet Daily News, January 15, 2015, Turkish daily probed over publication of Charlie cartoons
Top body initiates yet another mass purge of Turkey’s judiciary
Turkey has witnessed yet another huge wave of mass purges in the judiciary, with the government replacing almost 1,000 judges and prosecutors, raising more and more question marks over the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) motives in the latest restructuring of the country’s top judicial body.
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Hurriyet Daily News, January 16, 2015, Top body initiates yet another mass purge of Turkey’s judiciary