RFI goes behind-the-scenes of one of the week's major stories.
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Tensions between Turkey and Israel have intensified after an Israeli airstrike targeted a Syrian military airbase near the Turkish border. The strike came days after Turkey’s new military pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Ankara swiftly condemned Tuesday's Israeli airstrike on Syria’s Abu Duhur military airbase, 70 kilometres from its border, calling it illegal and a breach of Syrian…
Turkey stands on the threshold of closing a conflict spanning almost 50 years, after the Turkish parliament this week passed a law allowing exiled Kurdish militants to return home and rejoin society. The legislation aims to end the war with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has battled the Turkish state for independence since 1984. On Monday, legislators voted 468-88 in favour of a law…
The launch of the Yeni Party in Turkey promises to energise the country's struggling opposition. But while some polls show it leading, it remains vulnerable – already beset by arrests it says are "politically motivated". In a glitzy video, set to pumping music and shared widely across social media, Ozgur Ozel launched the Yeni Party – "New Party" – vowing to usher in a new era in Turkish politics…
Intensifying clashes between Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea are threatening a crucial trade artery responsible for nearly a third of the world's wheat supply, stoking fears of soaring prices and shortages. Earlier in July, a Russian cruise missile struck the grain carrier Golden Leo , claiming ten lives. This marked the deadliest blow yet in a mounting campaign by both Russian and Ukrainian…
The Israeli parliament's decision to postpone a vote on recognising the Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turkey is being seen as a triumph for regional diplomacy, as Azerbaijan in particular seeks to avert a further escalation in tensions between its close allies. The Israeli government gave no official reason for postponing the vote to formally recognise the Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turkey during…
On 16 July, Turkey marked a decade since the failed coup that shook the nation. Its defeat is widely viewed as the final curtain on military meddling in politics and as the moment when President Erdogan cemented his grip on power, yet the aftershocks for human rights and foreign relations still reverberate. On 16 July, Turkey marked a decade since the failed coup that shook the nation. Its defeat…
US President Donald Trump made headlines this week at the Nato summit in Ankara by declaring an end to all sanctions against Turkey, paving the way for the sale of the F-35 stealth fighter jet to the alarm of Greece and Israel. 'We are going to be taking the sanctions off; it's time to do that, OK. We don't want to sanction friends; it's very simple,' declared Trump to the international media,…
China recenly test-fired a nuclear-capable missile from a submarine into the Pacific, the first such launch from a nuclear-powered vessel and the first submarine-based test since 1982. The missile, identified by Taiwan as a JL-2 with a range of some 7,000 kilometres, came down near the Solomon Islands, drawing swift condemnation from Washington even as global attention remains fixed on the war…
Israel's government voted on 28 June to recognise the 1915 Armenian genocide, breaking with decades of official reticence on the issue. RFI spoke to three regional experts to unpack the politics behind the vote and its fallout: Gerald Steinberg, professor at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv; Richard Giragossian, director of the Regional Studies Centre in Yerevan; and Ilter Turan, professor at Bilgi…
Next week's NATO Summit in Ankara is expected to showcase Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rising influence within the alliance, as he aims to use the gathering to overcome resistance to crucial arms deals and highlight the rapid growth of Turkey’s defence industry. Boasting NATO’s second-largest army and sharing borders with flashpoints from Ukraine to the Middle East, Turkey is at the…
Turkey's main opposition says its Western allies are failing to respond as a widening crackdown by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government targets its leaders and elected mayors. The latest arrests this week followed a court decision to remove Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Ozgur Ozel and reinstate former leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in an unprecedented move that was widely condemned by…
