Foreign Policy
- U.S., Turkey Narrow Differences on Islamic State Fight
- Pope Caps Turkey Trip with Refugee Meeting, Call for Christian Unity
- NATO calls on Turkey to join EU sanctions against Russia as Putin visits Ankara
- Turkey assumes G20 presidency, pledges to fight inequality
- NATO ‘not considering’ establishing Syria no-fly zone, top general says
- Iraqi Kurds set to send fresh troops to Kobane
Economy and Energy
- Half of all Turkish businesspeople believe corruption will continue, but don’t see it as top problem
- Turkey’s refinery to make $3 billion upgrade online by 2015
- Istanbul Stock Exchange hits highest point in 1.5 years after OPEC decision
Domestic Politics
- Turkish justice minister rejects forming of secretariat in İmralı
- Turkey’s main opposition engages in self-criticism on Kurdish peace bid
- Security bill to secure Kurdish peace bid: Turkish President Erdoğan
Foreign Policy
U.S., Turkey Narrow Differences on Islamic State Fight
U.S. and Turkish officials have narrowed their differences over a joint military mission in Syria that would give the U.S. and its coalition partners permission to use Turkish air bases to launch strike operations against Islamic State targets across northern Syria, according to officials in both countries.
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Wall Street Journal, December 1, 2014, U.S., Turkey Narrow Differences on Islamic State Fight
Pope Caps Turkey Trip with Refugee Meeting, Call for Christian Unity
Pope Francis met with refugees fleeing violence in the Middle East and issued a strong call for Christian unity in the face of Islamist extremism, ending a three-day visit to Turkey that has focused on a message of interreligious tolerance and outreach.
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Wall Street Journal, December 1, 2014, Pope Caps Turkey Trip with Refugee Meeting, Call for Christian Unity
NATO calls on Turkey to join EU sanctions against Russia as Putin visits Ankara
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has voiced his expectations from Turkey to join the economic sanctions campaign against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis.
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Hurriyet Daily News, December 1, 2014, NATO calls on Turkey to join EU sanctions against Russia as Putin visits Ankara
Turkey assumes G20 presidency, pledges to fight inequality
Turkey assumed the presidency of the G20 group of major economies for the first time in its history on Dec. 1, pledging to fight global inequality during its turn at the helm. The presidency of the G20 is seen by Ankara as a major opportunity for Turkey to showcase its status as an economic and political power under the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
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Hurriyet Daily News, December 1, 2014, Turkey assumes G20 presidency, pledges to fight inequality
NATO ‘not considering’ establishing Syria no-fly zone, top general says
NATO is not considering establishing a no-fly zone in northern Syria, something Turkey has been calling for to alleviate security and humanitarian pressure on its southern border, one of the alliance’s top generals has told Reuters.
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Hurriyet Daily News, November 26, 2014, NATO ‘not considering’ establishing Syria no-fly zone, top general says
Iraqi Kurds set to send fresh troops to Kobane
Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has announced that it will soon send replacements for its 150 Peshmerga fighters who were recently sent to the Syrian town of Kobane through Turkey.
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Hurriyet Daily News, December 1, 2014, Iraqi Kurds set to send fresh troops to Kobane
Economy and Energy
Half of all Turkish businesspeople believe corruption will continue, but don’t see it as top problem
Some 46 percent of Turkish businesspeople believe corruption will increase in Turkey, according to a report issued by the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD), but few see corruption as one of the top three barriers to doing business in Turkey.
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Hurriyet Daily News, November 27, 2014, Half of all Turkish businesspeople believe corruption will continue, but don’t see it as top problem
Turkey’s refinery to make $3 billion upgrade online by 2015
Turkish refiner Tüpraş aims for all units in the $3 billion upgrade project at its İzmit refinery to be online at the start of next year, its General Manager Yavuz Erkut said Dec. 1.
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Hurriyet Daily News, December 1, 2014, Turkey’s refinery to make $3 billion upgrade online by 2015
Istanbul Stock Exchange hits highest point in 1.5 years after OPEC decision
The Istanbul Stock Exchange hit its highest point in one and a half years on Nov. 28, approaching 85,000 points in the wake of OPEC’s decision to refrain from cutting output despite a huge oversupply.
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Hurriyet Daily News, November 28, 2014, Istanbul Stock Exchange hits highest point in 1.5 years after OPEC decision
Domestic Politics
Turkish justice minister rejects forming of secretariat in İmralı
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has denied claims that a secretariat will be established in İmralı Island prison for the ongoing negotiations with Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), speaking late on Nov. 25.
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Hurriyet Daily News, November 26, 2014, Turkish justice minister rejects forming of secretariat in İmralı
Turkey’s main opposition engages in self-criticism on Kurdish peace bid
“We couldn’t explain our suggestions to Kurdish people for the solution of the Kurdish problem. We were at fault, not you,” the Republican People’s Party (CHP) chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said at a party meeting extraordinarily held in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on Nov. 29.
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Hurriyet Daily News, November 29, 2014, Turkey’s main opposition engages in self-criticism on Kurdish peace bid
Security bill to secure Kurdish peace bid: Turkish President Erdoğan
The controversial new security bill will “secure the fate of the resolution process,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, while also repeating that there is no room for any kind of bargaining along this process.
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Hurriyet Daily News, November 26, 2014, Security bill to secure Kurdish peace bid: Turkish President Erdoğan