Foreign Policy
- US congressional delegation holds talks with Turkish PM, FM
- Turkey Uneasy as U.S. Support of Syrian Kurds Grows
- US rules out northern Syria buffer zone
- Syria’s Kurds tells Turkey not to intervene militarily
- Turkish military denies reports on commanders’ meeting on possible Syria incursion
- Erdoğan convenes cabinet amid rising Syria border tension
Economy and Energy
- Political uncertainty threatens Turkey’s economy as World Bank cuts forecasts
- Turkey sees gas price deal with Gazprom in two weeks
- Turkey’s exports decrease by 8 pct in first half of 2015 due to forex changes, geopolitical risks: Association
- Turkey cannot grow further upon existing model: MIT economist
- Turkey’s banking sector heads for consolidation
Domestic Politics
- Turkish PM: Speaker election won’t change composition of CHP, MHP coalition talks
- PKK suspect caught with explosives in western Turkish city
- Turkey names defense minister amid rising Syria border tension
- Davutoğlu ready for coalition talks with AKP roadmap
- CHP urges gov’t to start coalition talks
US congressional delegation holds talks with Turkish PM, FM
A U.S. Congressional Delegation focused on the U.S. mission against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Iraq and Syria held talks with both Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on July 1.
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Hurriyet Daily News, US congressional delegation holds talks with Turkish PM, FM, July 1, 2015
Turkey Uneasy as U.S. Support of Syrian Kurds Grows
The United States has stepped up its military support for Syrian Kurdish militias fighting the Islamic State, efforts that have angered Turkey, a longtime ally and NATO member, which is now weighing new measures to contain the ambitions of the Kurds, including a buffer zone within Syria.
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New York Times, Turkey Uneasy as U.S. Support of Syrian Kurds Grows, June 29, 2015
US rules out northern Syria buffer zone
The U.S. has ruled out support for a buffer zone in northern Syria amid renewed fighting just across Turkey’s southern border, according to a U.S. State Department official.
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Hurriyet Daily News, US rules out northern Syria buffer zone, July 1, 2015
Syria’s Kurds tells Turkey not to intervene militarily
Syria’s main Kurdish party warned Turkey July 1 that any military intervention would threaten international peace and said the country’s main Kurdish militia is ready to face any “aggression.”
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Hurriyet Daily News, Syria’s Kurds tells Turkey not to intervene militarily, July 2, 2015
Turkish military denies reports on commanders’ meeting on possible Syria incursion
Reports that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) recalled commanders deployed along part of its border with Syria to the capital Ankara for a meeting on a possible military incursion into Syria “do not reflect reality,” Turkish military sources stated on July 6.
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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkish military denies reports on commanders’ meeting on possible Syria incursion, July 5, 2015
Erdoğan convenes cabinet amid rising Syria border tension
Turkey’s cabinet convened on July 6 under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss growing tension on the Turkish-Syrian border, amid the advance of jihadist militants in northwestern Syria that could trigger another massive refugee influx.
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Hurriyet Daily News, Erdoğan convenes cabinet amid rising Syria border tension, July 5, 2015
Economy and Energy
Political uncertainty threatens Turkey’s economy as World Bank cuts forecasts
The World Bank cut its growth forecasts for Turkey on Wednesday as uncertainty over who will govern exacerbated the country’s economic weaknesses and vulnerability to global liquidity tightening.
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Reuters, Political uncertainty threatens Turkey’s economy as World Bank cuts forecasts, July 1, 2015
Turkey sees gas price deal with Gazprom in two weeks
Turkey and Russia’s Gazprom are likely to finalize a deal on natural gas prices by mid-July, Turkish officials told Reuters, after Ankara warned last week it could seek international arbitration if they failed to agree.
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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey sees gas price deal with Gazprom in two weeks, July 2, 2015
Turkey’s exports decrease by 8 pct in first half of 2015 due to forex changes, geopolitical risks: Association
Turkey’s exports decreased 8.1 percent in the first half of the year to $73.26 billion from the same period of 2014, due to the negative effects of parities on exports and geopolitical risks in neighboring countries, the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM) announced on July 1.
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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey’s exports decrease by 8 pct in first half of 2015 due to forex changes, geopolitical risks: Association, July 1, 2015
Turkey cannot grow further upon existing model: MIT economist
The Turkish economy is grown upon state contributions, but this is not sustainable, MIT economist Daron Acemoğlu has said in an interview with Bloomberg HT.
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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey cannot grow further upon existing model: MIT economist, July 6, 2015
Turkey’s banking sector heads for consolidation
Turkey’s banking sector is heading for consolidation as ING enters exclusive talks to acquire HSBC’s operations in the country and bidders circle a potential sale by National Bank of Greece of its Turkish operations.
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Financial Times, Turkey’s banking sector heads for consolidation, July 5, 2015
Domestic Politics
Turkish PM: Speaker election won’t change composition of CHP, MHP coalition talks
The Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) effective support for the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) parliamentary speaker candidate will not impact the latter’s stance in coalition talks, according to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.
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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkish PM: Speaker election won’t change composition of CHP, MHP coalition talks, July 2, 2015
PKK suspect caught with explosives in western Turkish city
Police disarmed a man, suspected of being a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), carrying 14 kilograms of explosives and a firearm near a shopping center in the western city of Izmir on June 1.
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Hurriyet Daily News, PKK suspect caught with explosives in western Turkish city, July 2, 2015, ,
Turkey names defense minister amid rising Syria border tension
Turkey on Friday reappointed a former defense minister, Vecdi Gönül, who occupied the post for nearly a decade, after his successor was elected as parliamentary speaker.
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Reuters, Turkey names defense minister amid rising Syria border tension, July 3, 2015
Davutoğlu ready for coalition talks with AKP roadmap
The Justice and Development Party (AKP) has finalized its preparation for coalition talks by drafting a roadmap to guide Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu during the first round of meetings with other party leaders, which will kick off this week.
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Hurriyet Daily News, Davutoğlu ready for coalition talks with AKP roadmap, July 6, 2015
CHP urges gov’t to start coalition talks
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has failed to give any party a mandate to attempt to form a coalition government, one month after general elections, while the newly elected parliamentary speaker’s office has also been stalling the coalition talks, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) has argued.
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Hurriyet Daily News, CHP urges gov’t to start coalition talks, July 6, 2015