Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli is well-known as the “kingmaker” of Turkish politics. It was Bahçeli who called for early elections back in 2002, paving the way for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to come to office.
April 16 will mark one year since Turkey’s controversial referendum that resulted in a drastic change in the administrative system, from a parliamentary model to an executive presidency.
There is no sign that the crisis over the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter last month between the United Kingdom and Russia will be resolved any time soon.
Relations between Russia and Turkey can be analyzed under three main chapters following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
It would be useful to recall some chronological information before diving into the ongoing tension between France and Turkey over Syria.
One of the most interesting statements during the March 26 meeting between senior officials from Turkey and EU came from Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, who suggested making his country’s port city of Varna the permanent venue for future talks between Ankara and Brussels.
Senior officials from Turkey and the EU will meet at a summit in Varna on March 26, hoping to move toward normalizing relations after nearly two years of tension. Although expectations for a breakthrough on key issues like visa liberalization, upgrading the customs union, and reviving Ankara’s accession process are low, it is still important that the two sides are continuing to engage, listen to each other and more importantly continue to working together on mainly transactional matters.
Senior officials from Turkey and the EU will meet at a summit on March 26 at the term president Bulgaria’s resort city of Varna. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will lead a large delegation that will include Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, EU Minister Ömer Çelik, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekçi and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkçi.
On Jan. 11, 2018, Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled that the rights of arrested journalists, Şahin Alpay and Mehmet Altan, had been violated and that the pair should be released. In prison for more than a year, both of the well-known journalists are accused of “links to terrorist groups” and “attempting to overthrow the government.”
