Talking Turkey: Recent Episodes
Ahval
Ahval English editor David Lepeska interviews a variety of experts and analysts on all issues connected to Turkey
Political science professor Muzaffer Şenel told Ahval editor David Lepeska that he expects the European Union to levy minor sanctions against Turkey this week, that both Turkey and Greece are asserting maximalist maritime claims and that Turkish politicians are increasingly using refugees as scapegoats for the country’s economic and social issues.
Warsaw-based analyst Karol Wasilewski told Ahval editor David Lepeska that NATO has to be innovative to get Turkey and Greece to the negotiating table, that a divided European Union has strengthened Ankara’s hand and that Turkish foreign policy gains in Libya, Syria and the eastern Mediterranean could evaporate quickly.
Cyprus analyst Fiona Mullen told Ahval editor David Lepeska that conflict might have broken out in the eastern Mediterranean by now if the Greek and Turkish militaries had not been talking regularly, that Cyprus missed a great opportunity to develop its gas fields, and that the planned EastMed pipeline is probably a pipe dream.
Harry Tzimitras of the Peace Research Institute Oslo told Ahval editor David Lepeska that Turkey has been using its quest for natural gas to send a political and military message to the region and the West, and that the pandemic has shrunk energy demand and dramatically altered the situation in the eastern Mediterranean, from which gas will not be going to the European market.
Maritime law scholar Nicholas Ioannides told Ahval editor David Lepeska that several factors come into play when determining the maritime borders around the Greek island of Kastellorizo and that Turkey has violated the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which it is not a signatory, and sought to introduce deviations from international law while other regional actors have accepted standard regulations and sought to cooperate.
Migration and diaspora scholar Gerasimos Tsourapas told Ahval editor David Lepeska that a covid outbreak in any of Greece’s Aegean island refugee camps could exact a high toll, that President Erdogan’s weaponisation of refugees is likely to deliver diminishing results and that Turkey’s repressive measures abroad, like those of many authoritarian regimes, tend to make a real impact.
Researcher Meghan Bodette told Ahval editor David Lepeska that more than 170 women have been kidnapped by Turkey-backed rebels in Syria’s Afrin province since the start of the Turkish occupation in January 2018, including 11 more in August, and that Turkey has no intention of responding to reports of war crimes and rights violations in Afrin or northeast Syria.
Guillaume Perrier, longtime Turkey correspondent for French newspaper Le Monde, told Ahval editor David Lepeska that the threat of Turkey-linked political parties and Islamist and ultra-nationalist groups is growing in France and that with their latest exchange of insults presidents Erdogan and Macron are playing to a domestic audience and may soon move closer on Libya and the eastern Mediterranean as Paris aims to broker talks.
Atlantic Council fellow Dimitar Bechev told Ahval editor David Lepeska that we cannot yet assess the likely impact of Turkey’s gas discovery in the Black Sea, that Turkish President Erdogan appears to have U.S. President Trump wrapped around his finger and that Turkey’s policies in Syria, in halting Syrian President Assad’s offensive and curbing the Kurdish nationalist movement, have been a measured success.
German parliamentarian Sevim Dağdelen told Ahval editor David Lepeska that Germany cannot be a credible mediator on Libya or Turkey-Greece tensions until it halts arms shipments to Turkey and that Germany’s largest Muslim organisation is not a religious body but a political one, a representative of the Turkish state with which Germany should end all cooperation and funding.
Ghanem Nuseibeh of London-based consulting firm Cornerstone Global Associates told Ahval editor David Lepeska that Turkey’s foreign policy has become increasingly aggressive and predominantly Islamist, like that of Iran after its 1979 revolution, and NATO and the European Union have only put themselves at greater risk by failing to take united action.
Middle East analyst Nervana Mahmoud told Ahval editor David Lepeska that war is a real possibility in the eastern Mediterranean, that Turkey has taken all decision-making power away from Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Accord and that Turkish President Erdogan has lost significant support among Arabs in the past decade for failing to live up to his promises.
Renowned chef Mehmet Gurs told Ahval editor David Lepeska that the best people tend to make the best foods, that Turkish agriculture has probably never been this troubled and that the initial motivation for his New Anatolian Kitchen concept was making Turkish food cool and sexy enough to attract the next generation of chefs.
Kurdish Iranian author Ava Homa spoke to Ahval editor David Lepeska about her well-received debut novel, Daughters of Smoke and Fire, Kurdish life as an act of subversion, the great possibility of Rojava and the admiration Kurds in Iran and beyond have for Kurds in Turkey, and their achievements.
Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uighur Congress, told Ahval that China is trying to erase the Uighur people, that the international community, particularly Muslim states, had failed to adequately back Uighurs, and that Turkey should step forward and speak out against China, despite growing economic ties.
Merve Tahiroglu of the Project on Middle East Democracy told Ahval editor David Lepeska that Turkey’s new social media law, while troubling, will fail to stop online criticism, that President Erdogan and his ruling party have made Turkey hellish for women, and that a potential Biden presidency would mean greater U.S. pressure on Turkey.
Yerevan-based analyst Richard Giragosian told Ahval editor David Lepeska that the recent burst of violence along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border represents a new escalation in the neighbors' long-simmering conflict, about which he remains optimistic despite Turkey and Russia potentially renewing their regional rivalry.
Turkey campaigner for Amnesty International Milena Buyum told Ahval editor David Lepeska why a new social media bill points toward a dark future for freedom of expression, how Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention would be a disastrous step backward and that Turkish activists continue to speak out despite considerable government efforts to silence them.
American University professor Ulas Doga Eralp told Ahval editor David Lepeska that the European Union slowing Turkey's accession pushed it toward ultra-nationalism and that President Erdogan is acting like a schoolyard bully in the eastern Mediterranean, where the race to take advantage of hydrocarbon resources looks like a lose-lose game for all players.
Libya analyst Tarek Megerisi told Ahval editor David Lepeska that the Libyan conflict looks set to re-escalate once again as regional rivals Turkey and Egypt move toward military confrontation, even as Europe has begun slowly pushing the key actors toward a resolution.
Georgetown University lecturer Sinan Ciddi and top human rights advocate Sebnem Korur Fincanci told Ahval editor David Lepeska how President Erdogan has remade Turkey’s government and justice system in the four years since the failed coup, including a sharp rise in torture and terrorism cases, and why the issue of Fethullah Gulen’s possible extradition continues to undermine US-Turkish relations.
International relations professor Berk Esen told Ahval editor David Lepeska that Hagia Sophia becoming a mosque would not change much for the ruling AKP, that Turkey could face presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as next year and that President Erdogan may be losing young voters but that does not mean they will embrace the opposition.
Anthropology professor Nikos Michailidis spoke to Ahval editor David Lepeska about Greece-Turkey tensions, his Pontic Greek ancestry, the quiet revival of indigenous ethnic heritage in Turkey and how that could begin to reshape a more pluralist Turkish national identity for the 21st century.
King’s College London lecturer Alexander Clarkson told Ahval editor David Lepeska that Europe may deal firmly with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean yet remain hands-off in Libya, that Ankara’s refugee policies have forced the EU to militarize its borders and that Turkey will need to negotiate drilling rights with Greece and Cyprus sooner or later.
Dr. Tugba Tanyeri-Erdemir, research associate at the University of Pittsburgh, told Ahval editor David Lepeska that Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia is a beacon of secularism and unity as well as a symbol for Turkish nationalists and Islamists, and that whatever the court decides on Thursday, President Erdogan will likely find a way to use the decision to his advantage.
Bestoon Khalid, a Sulaymani-based journalist and Kurdish affairs analyst, told Ahval that the fight against Kurds always brings regional states together, that Turkey plans to carve out a buffer zone in northern Iraq, and that the leadership of the Syrian Kurdish enclave known as Rojava is gaining experience and mastering administration and governance.
Kurdish affairs analyst Güneş Murat Tezcür spoke to Ahval editor David Lepeska about the importance of U.S. policy in regards to the Kurdish enclave in northeast Syria, the near impossibility of a Kurd becoming a Turkish government minister and how the Kurdish movement remains miles away from self-determination and statehood.
Magnus Norell, senior policy advisor at the European Foundation for Democracy, told Ahval editor David Lepeska that Turkey is increasingly investing in emerging political parties in Europe in an effort to establish proxies and gain greater influence over the Turkish diaspora.
Migration expert Vit Novotny told Ahval editor David Lepeska that he expected a continuing migrant stream across the Aegean for the foreseeable future, which means the European Union needs to find a way to cooperate with Turkey on the refugee issue, despite the offences of President Erdogan and his government.
Retired U.S. diplomat Edward G. Stafford told Ahval editor David Lepeska about the United States’ strong case against Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin, how Trump is less able than Erdogan to do what he wants, and the determining factor in Turkey’s decision about activating its S-400 missile defences.
Naval Postgraduate School professor Ryan Gingeras spoke with Ahval editor David Lepeska about Turkey’s more aggressive maritime vision, its significantly strengthened navy and a possible face-off with Greece on the high seas.
Maritime affairs analyst and diplomatic advisor Paul Pryce told Ahval editor David Lepeska that Turkey has offered little more than deafening silence on Russia’s annexation of Crimea and that President Erdogan’s “crazy” Istanbul Canal project is likely less about shipping safety or maritime control than about manipulating local real estate.
Johns Hopkins University assistant professor Lisel Hintz explained to Ahval editor David Lepeska the considerable echoes of President Erdogan’s response to the mid-2013 Gezi protests in President Trump’s response to the current wave of U.S. protests, in particular how both used similar tools to vilify and discredit the protesters.
Blaise Misztal of the Hudson Institute told Ahval editor David Lepeska that Turkey’s delay in activating its Russian-made S-400 defences is not a ploy, that Ankara will have to neutralize its jihadi pals in Idlib one way or another, and that, considering his current foreign policy approach, President Erdogan would never seriously consider partnering with the United States against Iran.
Alexey Khlebnikov, Middle East analyst at the Russian International Affairs Council, told Ahval editor David Lepeska that he expects the ceasefire to hold in Syria’s Idlib province and that Turkish-Russian relations have stabilised since the countries’ presidents decided to focus on areas of agreement, rather than dispute.
Former Turkish judge Yavuz Aydin told Ahval editor David Lepeska that most of Turkey’s purged judges and prosecutors were dismissed because they stood their ground, that Turkey’s democratic decline may be irreversible, and that the Turkish government, not the pandemic, will be to blame for any covid-19 deaths among prison inmates in the days ahead.
Melek Önder of the Turkish women’s advocacy platform We Will Stop Femicide told Ahval editor David Lepeska that calls to the organization’s hotline have increased more than 50 percent during the pandemic lockdown and that a strong women’s movement has begun to emerge in Turkey, spurring the government to take meaningful steps to protect women.
Abdulla Hawez, an independent Kurdish affairs analyst, told Ahval editor David Lepeska that last year’s global solidarity with the Kurdish cause has had a significant positive impact for Kurds in Syria, while in Turkey the main Kurdish party has all but given up in the face of continued government persecution.
Jalel Harchaoui, research fellow at the Brussels-based Clingendael Institute, and Ryan Bohl, Middle East and North Africa analyst with consulting firm Stratfor, explained to Ahval editor David Lepeska why longer-lasting wars may be the new normal in the Middle East and how the coronavirus pandemic is shaping Turkey’s interventions in Syria and Libya.
Inan Dogan, an economist and the co-founder of investment news and analysis site Insider Monkey, explained to Ahval editor David Lepeska why Turkey’s recent coronavirus numbers make no sense, why many elderly Turkish citizens remain at risk despite the curfew and why Istanbul should follow the example set by New York.
Utku Çakırözer, CHP parliamentarian for Eskişehir, told Ahval editor David Lepeska that the prison amnesty passed last week is a violation of Turkey’s constitution, and the Turkish government is likely doing considerable damage to the economy while putting its citizens in greater danger.
Sinem Adar, researcher at the Center for Applied Turkey Studies at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, called on the European Union to increase its refugee financing to Turkey, and told Ahval editor David Lepeska that the Turkish government’s assault against municipalities’ corona response highlighted its legitimacy crisis.
Yaman Akdeniz, faculty of law at Istanbul Bilgi University, explained to Ahval editor David Lepeska why recently proposed social media regulations represent Turkish authorities’ harshest assault yet on free speech online, why he expects President Erdoğan to turn more authoritarian after the corona crisis and much more.
Shadi Hamid, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of the 2017 book “Islamic Exceptionalism”, spoke to Ahval editor David Lepeska about how President Erdoğan’s authoritarian tendencies have undermined his efforts to create a pious generation, which explains why analysts nowadays rarely talk of “the Turkish model”.
Emre Deliveli, an economist and former columnist for Hurriyet Daily News, explained to Ahval editor David Lepeska that the longer President Erdogan waits to enforce a full lockdown, the more extensive Turkey’s political, economic and public health damage is likely to be.
Nurcan Baysal, an award-winning Diyarbakir-based journalist and Ahval contributor, spoke with Ahval editor David Lepeska about getting detained again by Turkish authorities last week, and how people in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast are turning to self-censorship during the coronavirus crisis.
Kaya Genc, Istanbul-based author and journalist, spoke to Ahval editor David Lepeska about the collapse of Turkey’s media and cultural landscape and how Turks’ recovery from the crises of early 2017 could provide a guide for coming out of the coronavirus pandemic.
Nicholas Danforth, senior visiting fellow at the German Marshall Fund, spoke with Ahval editor David Lepeska about the latest in the corona crisis, the alliances and divisions within Turkey’s opposition and how Turkish politics might proceed after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan leaves the stage.
Frank McAndrew, professor of psychology at Knox College, and Dana Rose Garfin, adjunct professor at the University of California-Irvine, spoke to Ahval editor David Lepeska about how to minimise the negative mental and emotional impact of coronavirus-related isolation and pointed toward a silver lining that might come out of the pandemic.
Steven A. Cook, senior fellow for the Middle East and North Africa at the Council on Foreign Relations, spoke with Ahval editor David Lepeska about the grave mistakes of Turkey’s leadership in responding to coronavirus, an emerging global tendency toward more authoritarian responses, and the looming corona disaster in Syria’s Idlib province.
Aykan Erdemir, senior director of the Turkey program at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, spoke with Ahval editor David Lepeska about Turkey’s problematic response to the coronavirus, the looming disaster in Syria’s Idlib province and the outlook for the newly launched Deva Party of former deputy prime minister Ali Babacan.
Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke with Sasha Ghosh-Siminoff, executive director of the Syria-focused aid outfit People Demand Change, about the developing humanitarian disaster in Idlib, demographic engineering by Turkey and the Assad regime, and Europe's failure to stem the refugee crisis.
Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke with Istanbul Bilgi University professor Ayhan Kaya about Turkey’s problematic response to growing anti-Muslim sentiment in Europe, how Turkish-origin Europeans have changed and the potential impact of another refugee wave on far-right politics in Europe.
Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke with Henri Barkey, international relations professor at Lehigh University, about the absurdity of accusations that he and Osman Kavala were involved in the failed coup, how Turkey’s barrage of anti-Western conspiracy theories does lasting damage, and what sort of deal the Turkish and Russian presidents might reach this week on Syria’s Idlib province.
Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke with Soli Özel, international relations professor at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University, about the predictability of the Idlib crisis, Germany funding President Erdogan’s refugee resettlement plan, and why silence is the best policy on Turkey’s Libya intervention.
Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke with Marc Pierini, former EU ambassador to Turkey and visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, about Turkish President Erdogan’s dismantling of the rule of law, Turkey’s foreign policy of “permanent disruption” and the possibility of a humanitarian disaster in Idlib.
Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke with Max Abrahms, assistant professor of political science and public policy at Northeastern University and terrorism analyst, about calming an increasingly troubling situation in Idlib, why international support for Syrian rebels is counter-productive and how Syrian Kurds have played their cards well.
Ahval editor David Lepeka spoke to Kenan Sharpe, a journalist, and academic who studies Turkish culture, about the inventive writing of jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş, the trouble with Istanbul’s evolving music scene, and why Turkey’s biggest rapper has left the country.
Erkan Saka, communications professor at Istanbul Bilgi University, told Ahval editor David Lepeska why the Turkish government lags behind regional rivals in terms of tech capabilities, and how Turkey’s online activists are regaining strength after a few years of post-coup hiatus.
Ismail Sezgin, director of the London-based Centre for Hizmet Studies, told Ahval editor David Lepeska that a handful of Gülenists were indeed involved in the failed 2016 coup, and that Fetullah Gülen has acknowledged failures and begun changing the movement from within, even as thousands of its members face severe persecution.
Antonis Nikolopoulos, also known as Soloup, spoke to Ahval editor David Lepeska about his graphic novel Aivali, the historical bonds between Greeks and Turks, and why Turkish President Erdoğan is not as crazy as he seems.
Jalel Harchaoui, research fellow at the Clingendael Institute, explains to Ahval editor David Lepeska how the arrival of Syrian rebels in Libya is deeply problematic, why the Libyan conflict may be heading into its darkest period, and why the United Arab Emirates is preparing to unleash shock-and-awe on Turkey’s proxies.
Fiona Mullen, director of Cyprus-based consultancy Sapienta Economics, spoke with Ahval editor David Lepeska about the growing impact of the Cyprus problem, Turkey’s questionable claims to the waters around the island, and how the European Union has largely failed to protect Cyprus from Turkish aggression in the eastern Mediterranean.
Alexander Clarkson, lecturer on German and European Studies at King’s College London, explained to Ahval editor David Lepeska why Libyan General Khalifa Haftar must continue to escalate, how Europe has likely contributed to Libya’s civil war, and how Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to be burning all diplomatic options.
Dimitar Bechev, Ahval contributor and research fellow at the Atlantic Council, spoke with Ahval editor David Lepeska about Russia’s growing responsibility as a mediator, Turkey beefing up its military presence in Libya and the potential for progress at the Berlin conference on Sunday.
Can Dündar, former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper, spoke with Ahval editor David Lepeska about his story of exile, how the followers of fellow exile Fethullah Gülen might return to Turkey, and Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu following the political path of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Kristian Brakel, Istanbul head of Berlin-based think tank the Heinrich Böll Foundation, discusses how the Turkish and Russian presidents this week responded to the tensions in Libya, Syria, and Iran, and examines Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s potential challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, particularly in regards to Kanal Istanbul.
Elmira Bayrasli, co-founder of Foreign Policy Interrupted and a lecturer at Bard College, spoke to Ahval editor David Lepeska about the Turkish government’s new measures to curb violence against women and increase female labor-force participation, as well as women’s crucial role in the political success of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his ruling party.
Michel Cousins, editor-in-chief of online news outlet the Libya Herald, explained to Ahval editor David Lepeska how Turkey’s troop deployment will save the Tripoli-based government and expand the conflict in Libya, where a handful of international rivalries are playing out in an increasingly complex civil war.
Steven A. Cook, senior fellow for the Middle East and North Africa at the Council on Foreign Relations, speaks to Ahval editor David Lepeska about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s role in deeply troubled relations with the United States and explains how Ankara’s aggression in the Eastern Mediterranean has undermined its negotiating position.
Yunus Emre Açıkgönül, former Turkish diplomat and expert on international maritime law, explained to Ahval editor David Lepeska why Turkey’s recent maritime deal with Libya is largely meaningless and how the post-coup purge of its foreign ministry has left Turkey with few legal experts in international affairs.
Nate Schenkkan, director for special research at Freedom House, explained to Ahval editor David Lepeska that the European Court of Human Rights this week made a very decisive ruling in regards to jailed Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala, that Turkey’s media muzzling has largely succeeded and that in crafting their Turkey policy, U.S. officials should not fear being seen as coup plotters.
Ryan Gingeras, associate professor at the Naval Postgraduate School and an expert on Turkish and Middle East history, spoke with Ahval editor David Lepeska about the scholarly view of the Armenian Genocide, why history is doctrine in Turkey, and how we have misunderstood Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Just before NATO leaders gathered for their dinner reception on Wednesday, Dimitar Bechev, research fellow at the Atlantic Council, spoke with Ahval editor David Lepeska about how much Russian President Vladimir Putin is enjoying the Turkey-NATO rift and why Turkey’s ties to Europe are considerably stronger than its links to the United States.
Alexander Clarkson, lecturer in German and European Studies at King’s College London, fears the downturn in Turkey’s relations with NATO and European states is likely to continue, and sees Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean as the main flash-point in the coming months.
Hüseyin Çiçek, research associate at the Erlangen Center for Islam and Law and an analyst of Turkish immigrant communities in Austria and Germany, tells Ahval editor David Lepeska that most Germans of Turkish heritage remain deeply connected to their homeland, which helps explain why Turkey wields such influence.
Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke on Wednesday with independent Kurdish affairs analyst Abdulla Hawez, who sees the current international support for the Kurds as an opportunity, yet admits that the Kurdish movement in Turkey is facing one of its most difficult periods.
Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke on Monday with Ankara-based political analyst Dr. Ali Bakeer, who said U.S. officials fail to appreciate the implications of their harsh policy positions against Turkey, which has only been acting in its national interests in regards to the missile deal with Moscow and the offensive in northeast Syria.
Just before U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met at the White House on Wednesday, Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke with Columbia University’s David L. Phillips, a former senior adviser at the U.S. State Department, about the Turkish leader’s war crimes, Trump’s lack of character, and how the U.S. should begin to push for Erdogan’s ouster.
A week after Turkish pro-government media portrayed Qatar-Turkey relations as under threat, Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke with Qatar analyst David Roberts, a lecturer at King’s College London, about the two countries’ very close ties, their stance against Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. and their enduring support for Islamist groups across the Middle East.
A poll released Tuesday found support for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at its highest since mid-2018, despite international disapproval for Turkey’s Syria offensive and his ruling party’s electoral losses earlier this year.
On Wednesday, Tezcan Gümüş, lecturer at the University of Melbourne and analyst of Turkish politics and democracy, spoke with Ahval editor David Lepeska about Erdoğan’s near-absolute power, his budding rivalry with Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and more.
Around the time Turkish Presidential Adviser Ibrahim Kalin said on Monday that Turkey had dealt a serious blow to the Syrian Kurdish militia in Syria, Blaise Misztal of the Hudson Institute told Ahval editor David Lepeska that Turkey had likely increased its terrorist problem in northeast Syria, where the ambiguity of the U.S. mission has left much in doubt.
The day after the U.S. Congress doubly punished Turkey by passing a resolution to recognise the Armenian Genocide and another to levy sanctions against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other officials for Turkey’s offensive in northeast Syria, Ahval editor David Lepeska discussed Syrian refugees, the Kurdish issue and Erdoğan’s militant rhetoric with Merve Tahiroğlu, Turkey programme coordinator for the Program on Middle East Democracy.
As Russian and Syrian regime forces sought to push the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) out of areas along the Turkish border, Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke to Aaron Stein, director of the Middle East program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
The analyst gauged Turkey’s success against the SDF and the possibility of returning refugees to a planned safe zone and broke down how Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has played U.S. President Donald Trump.
The day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin laid out their plan for northeast Syria, Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke to independent analyst Kerim Has on Turkey-Russia relations, Russian missile defences and the future of Syrian Kurdish militias.
As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepared to meet for talks on northeast Syria on Tuesday, Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke with Syria and terrorism analyst Kyle Orton about a possible Ankara-Moscow deal, Western powers’ declining influence and the likelihod of an Islamic State resurgence.
On Day 6 of Turkey’s offensive in northeast Syria, Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke to Nicholas Danforth, senior visiting fellow at the US German Marshall Fund, about the deal between Syrian Kurdish fighters and the Assad government, the looming threat of U.S. sanctions and who’s to blame for the damage to U.S.-Turkey relations.
As Syrian government forces moved north toward the border with Turkey to take over Kurdish-controlled areas as part of its agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces, Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke with Yusuf Erim, political analyst for Turkey’s state-run broadcaster TRT World, about the next phase of Turkey’s military operations, Ankara’s refugee resettlement plan, and how Turkish officials view the threat of U.S. sanctions.
On Wednesday morning, as Turkey made final preparations for a military offensive into northeast Syria, Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke to Erbil-based freelance journalist Wladimir van Wilgenberg.
Co-author of The Kurds of Northern Syria, published in August, van Wilgenberg discussed the Syrian Kurdish autonomous region as a possible democratic model, early signs of an ISIS resurgence and the possibility of ethnic cleansing against Syrian Kurds.
Turkey is preparing for a long-planned military operation into northeast Syria after the surprise pull-out of U.S. forces early this week. Ahval editor David Lepeska spoke with former Turkish foreign minister Yaşar Yakış about how far Turkish forces might go, the outlook for Kurds on both sides of the border and a possible Islamic State (ISIS) resurgence.
This fringe's organized by Centre for Turkey Studies and Ahval News.
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