An attempt by Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to circumvent the country’s secularist establishment’s opposition to Abdullah Gul becoming president looks set to return to haunt it later this month. Under the current constitution, the president is elected by parliament. In April this... MORE

On October 1, Turkish Chief of Staff General Yasar Buyukanit publicly warned the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) against weakening secularism in the new Turkish constitution, which is expected to be put to a referendum in early 2008. A draft of the new constitution... MORE

On September 29, 12 male villagers were massacred close to the village of Besagac, near Turkey’s border with Iran, by what is believed to have been a unit of the armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The killing came the day after Turkey... MORE

Turkish officials have accused Massoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, of excluding the right of hot pursuit from a list of measures to be taken against militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) based in northern Iraq (NTV, Radikal,... MORE

Turkish officials have announced that Turkey and Iraq have finalized details of a list of measures to be taken against militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) based in northern Iraq. The announcement came after a 90-minute meeting in Ankara between Turkish Interior Minister Besir... MORE

Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bulani arrived in Ankara on September 25 for two days of talks with Turkish officials in an attempt to resolve long-standing differences over the continued presence of camps belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the Qandil Mountains of northern... MORE

Turkish Land Forces Commander General Ilker Basbug has issued a stern warning to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) not to attempt to change the current interpretation of secularism in the country and bluntly told the United States that it is time to take... MORE

Two visits by leading U.S. officials to Turkey in less than a week have failed to heal the strains in relations between Ankara and Washington, particularly over Turkey’s increasingly close economic ties with Iran and the continuing presence of militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party... MORE

Despite continuing political differences, Russia is rapidly becoming one of Turkey’s most important trading partners. According to figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), during the first six months of 2007 Turkey’s exports to Russia rose by 60.3% over the same period of 2006... MORE

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reacted angrily to criticism from the country’s secular establishment regarding a proposal in the draft new constitution to lift the current ban on women wearing Islamic headscarves while attending university. Members of the ruling Justice and Development Party... MORE