Although still cautious, Turkey can breathe a sigh of relief for now as almost all forest fires in Antalya and Muğla provinces have been put out. Rain brought relief to Antalya over the weekend while authorities are doing everything to extinguish the remaining fires in the province of Muğla’s Milas district and the province of Aydın’s Çine district.
Turkey registered nearly 25,000 new coronavirus cases on Aug. 3, with a weekly average of 22,500 cases. Following a decline in the number of new cases in the aftermath of the three-week lockdown in May, the figures started to surge again in early July as the domestic and international tourism season began.
Global climate change is an evident crisis, no longer a scientific discussion. Many countries in the Mediterranean basin are combatting spreading forest fires with thermometers registering record high heat waves.
Turkey is the country that hosts most refugees in the world. According to the official figures, some 3.7 million Syrians are being sheltered in Turkey due to the continued civil war in the neighboring southern country. Plus, Afghans and Iraqis, including immigrants from various African countries, make the refugee toll nearly 5 million. As a country with limited economic resources, Turkey is trying to tackle this growing issue without major global support.
Almost all the diplomatic missions in Turkey have been curious for weeks about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s planned trip to Turkish Cyprus on July 19 and 20. What worries them is not Erdoğan’s visit but what he will say during the trip and whether his messages might ratchet up the tension on the island and between Turkey and the European Union.
Turkey and the United States are continuing talks for the former’s continued stay in Afghanistan for safely running the international airport in Kabul. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on July 9 that these talks were aimed at drawing the scope of the Turkish mission in Kabul, while Defense Minister Hulusi Akar stressed that Turkey was in talks with other countries that are willing to join Turkey in this mission.
Turkey, which will hold the next elections in June 2023, is perhaps experiencing one of the longest-running election campaigns in its political history. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has already announced the start of his party’s election campaign through consecutive meetings with his party officials in the past two weeks.
While the reconciliation process continues in Turkey’s relations with the EU and Greece, eyes are now turned to how much this de-escalation will reflect on the Cyprus problem, especially ahead of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s scheduled visit to the island on July 20.
The Syrian war, which has entered its 10th year, reminds the international community of itself with a new phenomenon every day.
