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It was a record turnout for Turkiye's presidential and parliamentary elections. But after more than 55 million votes were cast, no candidate passed the 50% threshold in the first round, setting the stage for a run-off scheduled for May 28. The record number of voters coincided with several new political parties entering the race for the first time. The People's alliance led by the ruling AK party is set to maintain its majority, as the country waits anxiously for the presidential run-off later this month.
Guests:
Helin Sari Ertem- Associate Professor at Medeniyet University
Vehbi Baysan- Associate Professor at Ibn Haldun University
Valeria Giannotta- Director of CeSPI's Observatory on Türkiye -
For decades, Western countries have engaged the African continent with a mixture of aid packages that often came with strings attached. Straddled with the legacy of colonialism, many African countries were often left dependent on their former rulers to develop their economies. But over the past decade, new players started engaging the African continent, offering alternatives to the West. Russia with its security and defence deals, and China with its massive infrastructure projects and loans. But now Turkiye is also trying to get into the mix, with its own unique approach.
Guests:
Alex Vines
Director of Africa Programme at Chatham House
Jihad Mashamoun
Research Fellow at Exeter IAIS -
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One of the biggest hurdles in US-Turkish relations has been the stalled sale of F-16 fighter jets, that Ankara requested back in October 2021. Being stuck in Congress for a year and half, a small part of the deal could be about to move forward. The US State Department recently approved the sale of F-16 software upgrades to Turkiye, in a deal worth $259 million.
US President Joe Biden has notified Congress, putting the onus on them to officially approve the sale. But the agreement is just a fraction of a much wider package that Turkiye is seeking, which includes 40 F-16 fighters and dozens of modernisation kits, worth about 20 billion dollars. The deal was a compromise after Turkiye was removed by the US from the F-35 fighter programme, due to Washington's complaints that Ankara had purchased air defence systems from Russia. But this latest deal being pushed by President Biden comes after Turkyie's approval of Finland's entry into NATO, and easing tensions with Greece.
Guests:
Jaroslaw Strozyk
Former Director at Polish Military Intelligence
Ahmet Keser
Associate Professor at Hasan Kalyoncu University -
Bitter enemies Iran and Israel have been fighting a shadowy proxy war in Syria and beyond for years. But this low intensity conflict is seeing more and more armed UAVs. Even the US has thrown itself into the mix, including a drone strike that was launched in Syria earlier this month. The US military says it killed a suspected Daesh member who was planning an attack in Europe.
Just a few weeks before that, the US said it retaliated against Iran-linked groups in Syria, after a drone attack killed an American contractor. US intelligence said the UAV strike was of Iranian origin. Earlier this month, Israel also said it shot down an Iranian drone that flew into its airspace from Syria. Just hours earlier, Israel had launched air strikes on Iranian targets in the country. Iran has also accused Israel of using unmanned aerial vehicles to launch attacks deep inside its borders. On February 2, three drones reportedly attacked a military site in the city of Isfahan, which Tehran blamed on Israel. And Iran said it foiled a similar drone attack in the same city earlier this month, adding the attempt didn't not cause any damage.
Guests:
Federico Borsari
Leonardo Fellow at CEPA
Mohammed Soliman
Technology and Cyber Security Analyst -
For more than a year, an estimated $300 billion dollars that belongs to Russia's central bank, has been sitting in accounts frozen by the US and its allies. Immediately after Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, the US and several Western governments, blocked Moscow from accessing those funds. Now debate is growing both in Washington and Brussels on what to do with that money.
Some US lawmakers are calling for it to be sent to Ukraine, to fund its war against Russia. Since February last year, the US and its allies have allocated nearly $200 billion dollars in support for Ukraine. But more than 13 months into the war, concerns are growing about sustaining that level of support. Tax payers in the West, already burdened by rising inflation, have been pressuring lawmakers for relief. One US senator is working on a new bill that would allow President Joe Biden to seize Russian central bank assets and make them available to Ukraine. But would that open up more legal and political problems and what precedent would it set?
Guests:
Evan Criddle
Professor at William and Mary Law School
Gregory Simons
Researcher at Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies -
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has paid an official visit to Ankara where he met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. The two ministers said they are taking concrete steps in reappointing ambassadors and will enhance cooperation to ensure stability in Libya. The meeting comes just weeks after Cavusoglu made a landmark visit to Cairo, the first of its kind in a decade.
Shoukry's visit to Turkiye is his second since March when he toured the country's south in a show of solidarity following the February 6th earthquakes. Diplomatic ties between the two countries had been cut off after a 2013 coup in Egypt overthrew then-president Mohammed Morsi. But the recent meetings have raised expectations that full diplomatic relations will be restored soon. Their rapproachment follows others in the region, including Iran, which recently reopened its embassy in Saudi Arabia. Bahrain and Qatar also announced restoration of diplomatic ties, ending a years-long dispute.
Guests:
Jane Kinninmont
Policy and Impact Director at European Leadership Network
Cengiz Tomar
Professor at Marmara University -
America's foes, and even some friends have called for changes in how the world does business. Long dominating international trade, the US dollar also gave America unrivaled power to spend, lend and punish countries unilaterally, by shutting them out of the global financial system. But that could be about to change. Countries like China, Russia, and others across the Middle East, Latin America and the Indo Pacific are calling for less reliance on the US dollar. But when did it all start and what hurdles has the US greenback faced over the decades?
Guests:
Geoffrey Williams
Head of Research and Innovation at MUST
Guido Cozzi
Professor of Macroeconomics at St Gallen University -
A mysterious helicopter crash in northern Iraq a few weeks ago, is adding the latest sore point between Turkyie and its southern neighbor. The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced it was closing its airspace for flights to and from Sulaimaniyah airport in northern Iraq, citing intensified activities in the region by the PKK terror group. The decision came after two helicopters crashed in Dohuk, killing all those on board. But what alarmed Turkiye, was the aircraft had been carrying PKK-linked terrorists from Syria.
The incident fueled claims by Ankara that the PKK was in possession of helicopters, and that it had infiltrated Sulaymaniyah airport. The helicopter's route also raised eyebrows, as it used an irregular flight plan to reach Sulaimaniyah airport from the YPG-controlled city of al-Hasakah in Northern Syria. The closure follows a similar ban placed backed in 2017, after Turkey criticized continued PKK activities in the area. Ankara has launched several operations against the PKK and its affiliates in recent years, including Operation Claw-Sword in Northern Syria and Iraq
Guests:
Rich Outzen
Former US Diplomat
Ahmet Uysal
Director at ORSAM -
It's being called the world's first drone carrier. Commissioned on Monday, the TCG Anadolu, which began construction in 2016, was built mostly with domestic parts. It will also be equipped with the country's latest UAVs, the TB3 Bayraktar drones. The multi purpose assault ship, is expected to play a vital role in Türkiye's maritime security, espeically in the heavily contested eastern Mediterraean.
Guests:
Zoltan Egeresi
Political Analyst
Tarik Oguzlu
Professor at Aydin University -
The last time a Greek defence minister visited Turkiye was back in 2002. Over those two decades, the neighbors saw their relations swing from co-operation towards confrontation. The last few years were especially tense, following a series of standoffs both in the open sea, and along their border. But following the devastating February 6th quakes that struck southern Turkiye, Greece stepped forward as one of the first countries to provide relief supplies and rescue teams.
Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, together with his Greek counterpart Nikos Pana-gio-top-oulos, held a joint news conference in Hatay, which suffered some of the most damage from the quakes. Akar spoke on how the two countries needed to resolve their differences through dialogue.
Guests:
Emete Gozuguzelli
Associate Professor at ASBU
Dimitris Tsahouras
Senior Research Fellow at ELIAMEP -
Nearly a year after applying to join NATO, Finland has become the alliance's 31st member. But the country that pushed Helsinki to abandon its decades of neutrality is not pleased. Not long after the Finnish flag was unfurled at NATO's headquarters in Brussels, Russia warned the accession was a dangerous historic mistake that would weaken regional security.
Moscow went further, saying the risk of conflict has now increased, and it would be forced to take counter-measures. Russia and Finland share a 13-hundred km long border, which the Kremlin says has been reinforced in response to NATO's expansion. Last year, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine, to protest what it said was the alliance's encroachment on its territory. In response, Finland and Sweden both applied to join NATO. Last week, Turkiye's parliament ratified Finland's bid, but not Sweden's, due to what Ankara says was the country's failure to crack down on terror groups. So how will Russia respond to Finland's accession and how will NATO react?
Guests:
Glenn Diesen
Professor at University of South-Eastern Norway
Sean Michael Cox
Senior Adviser at the Global Policy Institute -
Azerbaijan had tough words for its neighbor to the south, warning that no one could speak to it in a menacing tone. On Monday, the country's defence minister criticised Iran, and the comments it made about Azerbaijan's co-operation with Israel. Tehran recently condemned Israel's top diplomat, who said his country, together with Baku, was forming a united front against Iran.
Last week the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Israel met in West Jerusalem, as Baku prepared to open its first embassy, which will be located in Tel Aviv. The two countries have shared close security and energy ties for decades and have also opposed Iran's policies in the region. Azerbaijan saw tensions flare up with its southern neighbor throughout most of last year, following a string of military drills Iran held near its border. Ties between Baku and Tehran deteriorated following the 2020 Karabakh war, where Azerbaijan came out victorious, reclaiming lost territory from Armenia. Iran, which also shares a border with Armenia, has been one of Yerevan's main military backers.
Guests:
Eldad Ben Aharon
Researcher at Peace Research Institute Frankfurt
Farid Shafiyev
Chairman of the Centre of Analysis of International Relations -
Saudi Arabia, a long-time US ally, has taken a step closer to joining a security bloc that many say wants to challenge NATO and other Western-led institutions. Last week, the Saudi cabinet approved measures to become the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation's newest dialogue partner. It's the latest move by Riyadh in its search for alternate economic and security partnerships.
The SCO, established in 2001 as a political, economic, and security group, comprises China, Russia, and several Central Asian states. The group later expanded to include India and Pakistan, with Iran becoming the newest full member in November. Last month, bitter rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran also agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties in a Chinese-brokered deal. Riyadh, which for decades had close security and political ties with the US, has been pursuing new trade and security deals further east. That shift has raised eyebrows in Washington, including Saudi Arabia's latest announcement that it will cut oil production by half a million barrels a day. So is Saudi Arabia forging a new path directly opposed to US interests?
Guests:
Jacopo Scita
Policy Fellow at Bourse and Bazaar Foundation
James Dorsey
Senior Fellow at the National University of Singapore -
Last year, a UN resolution declared March 15 as 'the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. Shortly after marking the occasion this year, the eight edition of the European Islamophobia Report was released, detailing how Muslims were seeing increased cases of discrimination. The report said that the war in Ukraine overshadowed many issues, and stressed that the conflict exposed glaring double standards. That Europeans are more welcoming to certain types of refugees than others.
The report detailed that many European countries openly welcomed white, Christian Ukrainians fleeing Russia's attack in the early stages of the war, while having for years opposed accepting mostly Muslim refugees escaping conflicts. Researchers who contributed to the report also highlighted how western media coverage, vastly differed in their portrayal of Ukrainian and Muslim refugees. Islamopbhobia was also found to be expanding at the institutionalized state level, where legislation and government policies directly targeted Muslims in certain countries.
Guests:
Farid Hafez
Senior Fellow at Bridge Initiative
Linda Hyokki
Researcher at Ibn Haldun University -
Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the stakes in his confrontation with the West and NATO. Last week, he announced that Russia would be deploying tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus. If carried out, it would be the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, that Moscow will station nuclear weapons outside its borders.
The announcement comes as the war in Ukraine continues with no end in sight. Kiev responded to the annoucement by saying Putin's plan poses a risk to the region as Belarus shares a long border with Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. Belarus, which has stood by Moscow and allowed its territory to be used in the attack on Ukraine, confirmed it will host Russian nuclear weapons. Its foreign ministry said the decision was in response to years of western pressure and sanctions. Just days after the announcement, Russia conducted exercises with its Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles, a key component of its nuclear arsenal. So how will this latest announcement alter the balance of power in Europe, and how will the US and NATO respond?
Guests:
Stephen Herzog
Senior Researcher in Nuclear Arms Control at ETH Zurich
Eugene Chausovsky
Senior Director at Newslines Institute -
Turkiye's Foreign Ministry had harsh words for the US following the release of a report by the state department. Every year, the US releases a so-called human rights report on nearly every country, but for 2022, it was particularly critical of Turkiye. Ankara slammed allegations in the report as baseless, saying it contains erroneous information of unknown origin. Instead, Turkiye's foreign ministry called on the US to focus on its own record on human rights.
The Ministry condemned, what it called a distorted portrayal of Turkiye's fight against terrorist organisations like the PKK and FETO, which orchestrated the failed July 15 coup. It added that the country would never compromise on its fight to ensure national security. Ankara highlighted that the US report was politically motivated and lacked objectivity. Turkiye, along with many other countries have criticised the annual reports released by the state department, citing their inconsistency, and double standards in detailing rights abuses. So does the US have the moral authority to release these types of reports given its own record? And will countries take these reports seriously?
Guests:
Javier Farje
Political Analyst
Bilgehan Ozturk
Researcher at SETA -
It's a plan that has been floated for years, but has seen slow progress as of late. A road and railway network, running from southeastern Turkiye, through Iraq, all the way to Basra on the Gulf. Although languishing for years in the planning phase, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave the project a new jolt, referencing it during a press conference last week with Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
Dubbed the Development Road Project, the railway and road network will begin at Ovakoy on the Turkish-Iraqi border, and head south. It will pass all of Iraq's major cities including Mosul, its capital Baghdad, before finally arriving in Basra and the al Faw port on the Gulf. Iraq's Prime Minister said he had constructive talks with President Erdogan, especially when it came to the economy. The two countries saw a record trade year in 2022, hitting 24 billion dollars. President Erdogan also said that Turkiye would be releasing more water from the Tigris River, to help alleviate water shortages in Iraq, which lies downstream.
Guests:
Ivan Eland
Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute
Ahmet Keser
Associate Professor at Hasan Kalyoncu University -
It was a candid exchange between two of the US's most prominent adversaries. As he capped off his three-day visit to Moscow, Chinese President Xi Jinping hinted to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, that both are now shaping a new world order.
Xi was on his first visit to Moscow since Russia launched its attack on Ukraine last year. Just days before, Vladimir Putin was issued with an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court - and the Russian leader was looking for some diplomatic support from his biggest trade partner and strategic ally. Beijing and Moscow have long opposed the US and its Western-led institutions. Together, they've been critical of NATO's expansion and global sanctions on Russian energy companies and Chinese tech firms. The two countries also lead a series of regional blocs that have offered alternatives to the Western-led order including a group of leading emerging economies known as BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Guests:
Einar Tangen
Senior Fellow at Taihe Institute
Mark Meirowitz
Professor at SUNY Maritime College -
7.5 billion dollars. That's how much a European Commission donor conference pledged for Turkiye and Syria in the aftermath of the February 6 earthquakes. The funds consist of grants and loans, and will go towards rebuilding the devastated areas. Last month's quakes killed more than 50,000 people in Turkiye, destroyed over 300,000 buildings, and left around 1.5 million people homeless.
The Brussels conference brought together hundreds of countries, international organisations and financial institutions. They've pledged to help rebuild homes, hospitals, and schools. The UN Development Programme estimates the total financial burden for Turkiye is $103 billion. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the conference, and said the government would rebuild 319,000 homes within one year. Some three million people are estimated to have fled their homes following last month's disasters.
Guests:
Samuel Doveri Vesterbye
Managing Director at European Neighbourhood Council
Giray Sadik
Director of European Studies Centre at AYBU -
Negotiations over the weekend have secured a 60-day extension to last year's Black Sea grain deal that allows Ukraine to export wheat and cereals to global markets. The extension comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and the west. Russian President Vladimir Putin has seen a mix of good and bad news in recent days, from welcoming one of his closet partners, Chinese President Xi Jinping, to being hit with an international arrest warrant from the ICC.
Speaking after their meeting in Moscow, President Putin and Xi reiterated his long time support for Russia, and his ideas to bring peace to Ukraine. Meanwhile the Kremlin says that on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which saw heavy fighting last year before falling to the Russian military. Moscow also recently warned NATO that it will destroy fighter aircraft given to Ukraine. Slovakia and Poland recently announced they would be sending fighter jets to Ukraine, in a bid to shore its air defences. Last week, A Russian plane brought down a US drone in the black sea, in the first direct confrontation between Russia and America since the conflict began last year.
Guests:
Manas Chawla
CEO at London Politica
Amanda Paul
Senior Policy Analyst at European Policy Centre - Mehr anzeigen
