Europe August 17, 2021 TURKEY: Afghan crisis leaves Erdogan empty handed Afghanistan, Politics, Turkey Wolfango Piccoli The Taliban’s seizure of Afghanistan’s capital has effectively killed Ankara’s plans to use Turkish forces to operate Kabul international airport after the withdrawal of NATO allies. The “airport mission” was Erdogan’s (weak) card to try to mend ties with the... Read More...
Europe August 10, 2021 TURKEY: Erdogan’s regime descending into farce and caricature Politics, Turkey Wolfango Piccoli The government’s mismanagement of the fires that recently swept southwest Turkey have reinforced the impression that the regime of President Tayyip Erdogan is in decay. It has also shown how dysfunctional Erdogan’s much vaunted executive presidential system has become, reinforcing... Read More...
Europe July 15, 2021 TURKEY: Erdogan looks to make provocative move in the Eastern Mediterranean Politics, Turkey editorial Wolfango Piccoli President Tayyip Erdogan is due to visit the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on 20 July to mark the 47th anniversary of Turkey’s invasion of the Mediterranean island, which is celebrated as “Peace and Freedom Day” on the... Read More...
Europe June 28, 2021 TURKEY: Droughts set to drive up food prices, threaten electricity supplies Politics, Turkey drought Wolfango Piccoli The latest in a series of increasingly frequent droughts is expected to produce a poor harvest this year, fueling a further rise in food prices and frustrating the government’s hopes of curbing the country’s persistently high inflation. The lack of... Read More...
Europe June 23, 2021 TURKEY: Some EU money while “swap line” talk makes a comeback Politics, Turkey editorial Wolfango Piccoli Despite the talk of a “positive agenda”, the 24-25 June European Council (EC) summit is unlikely to be a significant moment for the future development and improvement of Turkey-EU relations. Concrete progress in relation to the upgrading of the... Read More...
Europe June 13, 2021 TURKEY: Erdogan likely to go back home empty-handed from summit with Biden Emerging Markets, Politics, Turkey Biden, Erdogan Wolfango Piccoli The Turkish lira rallied nearly 2% on 11 June to its strongest level in a month ahead of a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart , Joe Biden, scheduled for 14 June. A charm... Read More...
Europe June 10, 2021 TURKEY: Erdogan to meet Biden, no breakthrough expected Emerging Markets, Politics, Turkey, US Wolfango Piccoli US President Joe Biden will meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Brussels on 14 June during the NATO summit, less than two months after Biden declared the WWI mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as an act... Read More...
Europe May 17, 2021 TURKEY: Easing restrictions but luring back tourists will be hard Armenia, Emerging Markets, Politics, Turkey Wolfango Piccoli Economic (and political) imperatives continue to shape Turkey’s fight against Covid-19. The vaccination rollout is currently disrupted by supply issues and it is unclear when an adequate provision will be secured. Barring a late rebound, the tourism season this year is... Read More...
Europe April 29, 2021 TURKEY: A likely futile lockdown Armenia, Emerging Markets, Politics, Turkey Wolfango Piccoli Turkey will enforce its strictest nationwide lockdown from today (29 April) until 17 May to fight a surging third wave of coronavirus infections. Leaving aside the medical emergency, the idea is that a strict lockdown now will help to... Read More...
Europe April 25, 2021 TURKEY: Armenian Genocide recognition will trigger furious (verbal) response Armenia, Emerging Markets, Politics, Turkey Armenian genocide, editorial Wolfango Piccoli US President Joe Biden’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide marks a new low-point in bilateral Turkey-US ties and will trigger a furious verbal response from Ankara. Retaliatory measures, if any, are likely to be short-lived and generally non-material. In the... Read More...
