What's up with Turkey?

[Otto Harkaman]

https://youtu.be/9eCImte0NEc?si=Zb6fzbw1Z8q26vE9
https://youtu.be/GnwycZNvvt0?si=1fAa2OZ1w-NWCq4J
https://youtu.be/ng5F1g5tCaM?si=PGt6jkVlq4xgzc_7

[Buddahaid]

Which century are you talking about?

[Skybird]

Turkey is a main actor making sure Russia can evade the consequences of the sanctions.



Turkey was the main "mediator" behind the hostages-for-murderers swap.

[Otto Harkaman]

Turkey is a main actor making sure Russia can evade the consequences of the sanctions.

Turkey has been playing a significant role in helping Russia evade international sanctions, particularly those imposed due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Recent reports highlight that Turkey has facilitated this evasion through various means, including its financial and trade relationships with Russia.
The U.S. has sanctioned several Turkish companies and individuals for their involvement in aiding Russia. These sanctions target entities that have been helping Russia's war effort by providing services such as repairing sanctioned vessels and facilitating the transfer of dual-use goods—items that can be used for both civilian and military purposes. This has allowed Russia to maintain its military capabilities despite the sanctions​ (Financial Times (https://www.ft.com/content/00badf9e-f0d9-417f-9aec-9ac1c2207835))​​ (Global (https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/02/understanding-the-energy-drivers-of-turkeys-foreign-policy?center=europe))​.
Moreover, the increase in trade volumes between Turkey and Russia since the onset of the Ukraine conflict suggests that Turkey's economic interactions with Russia have been significant in mitigating the impact of the sanctions on Moscow. This involvement has raised alarms in Western capitals, which see Turkey's actions as undermining the collective efforts to pressure Russia into compliance​ (Financial Times (https://www.ft.com/content/00badf9e-f0d9-417f-9aec-9ac1c2207835))​​ (Global (https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/02/understanding-the-energy-drivers-of-turkeys-foreign-policy?center=europe))​.
In summary, Turkey's role in helping Russia evade sanctions underscores a complex geopolitical relationship, balancing its own economic interests and strategic alliances while drawing criticism from Western allies.

Turkey was the main "mediator" behind the hostages-for-murderers swap.

Turkey played a pivotal role in the recent high-profile prisoner exchange between the United States, Russia, and other countries. This complex operation, coordinated by Turkish intelligence, saw the release of 26 individuals from seven different countries, including notable figures such as Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza​ (Al-Monitor (https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/08/us-russian-prisoner-swap-including-wsj-reporter-evan-gershkovich-completed-turkey))​​ (Devdiscourse (https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/3038678-high-stakes-prisoner-swap-turkey-mediates-between-east-and-west))​​ (Al-Monitor (https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/08/us-russian-prisoner-swap-including-evan-gershkovich-completed-turkey))​.
President Joe Biden publicly thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for ensuring the successful completion of the swap. The exchange also involved the release of 12 prominent Russian dissidents and German nationals, including Ilya Yashin, a close aide to the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny​ (Al-Monitor (https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/08/us-russian-prisoner-swap-including-wsj-reporter-evan-gershkovich-completed-turkey))​​ (Al-Monitor (https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/08/us-russian-prisoner-swap-including-evan-gershkovich-completed-turkey))​.
The operation underscored Turkey's significant diplomatic influence and its ability to mediate complex international negotiations. This exchange demonstrates Turkey's strategic role in facilitating dialogue and resolution between Eastern and Western powers​ (YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G1tuoowfLQ#:~:text=URL%3A%20https%3A%2F%2 Fwww,100))​​ (Al-Monitor (https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/08/us-russian-prisoner-swap-including-evan-gershkovich-completed-turkey))​.

[Otto Harkaman]

https://youtu.be/1cP1jLczvM0?si=xS7hMxzhZPL9tjSb
https://youtu.be/g7dMv-3Zn7I?si=1ytpLPEUOxQZv71X

[Otto Harkaman]

Turkey seems to quickly condemn PKK for attack but what is really going on? :hmmm:

Turkey's government says its military struck sites on Wednesday night in Iraq and Syria linked to Kurdish militant group the PKK, after blaming it for an attack near Ankara that killed at least five people.https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c937p1vzrx0o

[Dargo]

Turkey seems to quickly condemn PKK for attack but what is really going on? :hmmm:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c937p1vzrx0oThe Kurdish Freedom Hawks (TAK), a splinter organisation even more violent and uncompromising than the PKK. The TAK split from the PKK 20 years ago because it was willing to talk to the state. Given its past methods, Tuesday's attack in Ankara may very well have been the work of the TAK. Incidentally, some observers believe that the organisation does still have links to the PKK. The parent organisation is said to use the splinter for radical actions, to which it itself does not want to lend its signature.

Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the right-wing nationalist party MHP, partner in President Erdoğan's coalition. Said PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is serving a life sentence in complete isolation on the islet of Imrali, could announce in parliament that the PKK will be dissolved and that ‘terrorism is completely over’. He even suggested that Öcalan could be released at large in that case, an unprecedented sound in Turkish politics. Coincidentally, the attack took place just as Öcalan was receiving visits in his solitary cell for the first time in almost four years. His nephew Ömer Öcalan, a member of parliament for DEM, announced on X that he had spoken to the PKK leader. On behalf of his uncle, the cousin conveyed the following message: "If the conditions are met, I can move the process from conflict and violence to the field of law and politics."

PKK spokesmen had reacted to MHP leader Bahçeli's statements with more scepticism on Tuesday. For instance, PKK leader Duran Kalkan wrote in Yeni Özgür newspaper that the alleged rapprochement stems from uncertainty among the Erdoğan government about geopolitical developments in the region, especially the possibility of war between Iran and Israel, backed by the US. Turkey would therefore seek backing from the Kurds

[Otto Harkaman]

U.S. Fears Military Buildup by Turkey Signals Preparations for Incursion Into Syria: Report


The United States is alarmed that Turkey is preparing for a large-scale military incursion into Syria, targeting U.S.-backed Kurdish forces.
U.S. Officials noted that Turkey's military buildup resembles movements seen before its 2019 invasion of northeast Syria.
A new Turkish offensive could deepen regional instability and undermine security against Islamic State remnants.
Turkey considers the SDF an extension of the PKK, which it has designated as a terrorist organization.

https://ground.news/article/us-fears-military-buildup-by-turkey-signals-preparations-for-incursion-into-syria-report_8502ad

https://youtu.be/TRlHhMXmgVM?si=sElO8-e1HOpbUorB
https://youtu.be/JQwaJOVb_5g?si=gGKTuJ1XzvrCPABc

[Raf1394]

All countries bordering Syria, just take there own interests.
Its simple.

[Aktungbby]

All countries bordering Syria, just take their own interests.
Its simple. fixed!:O::doh::|\\:know:

[Raf1394]

fixed!:O::doh::|\\:know:

Whoeps missed that, thanks haha

[Dargo]

Kurdish democratically elected representatives are sentenced to up to 145 years in prison and will probably never leave their Turkish prisons alive. Türkiye, has released (18 Dec 2024) ISIS prisoners sentenced to 45 years in prison, they killed 45 civilians in Istanbul. :hmmm:

[Reece]

How did Turkey ever become NATO members?? :doh:

[Otto Harkaman]

How did Turkey ever become NATO members?? :doh:

We bought them to threaten the USSR southern flank

"The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan included significant financial and military aid to Turkey, further strengthening ties with the West."

[Raf1394]

We bought them to threaten the USSR southern flank

"The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan included significant financial and military aid to Turkey, further strengthening ties with the West."


Thats something that i always find hypocritical. When Turkey has military power to get a edge towards the Soviet Union (what benefits NATO)
Everyone agrees what Turkey is doing.

But when Turkey suddenly starts expanding there influence in what Turkey sees as a benefit for themselves (they also have right to do it)
The world starts to complain haha.
i'm not Turkish :) But people need to understand that the world doesn't only apply to the NATO. Other countries also have the right to get there interests.

[Dargo]

Turkey foreign policy has not changed much since WW1, it always waits to pick the winner that serves their interest the best in WW1 they picked the wrong side in WW2 they decided to join the allies only after Rommel lost in Africa had Rommel won the battle of El-Alamein Turkey would have joined the Axis. It will always be oscillating between the power blocs.

[Otto Harkaman]

https://youtu.be/w14yRc8J9Ik?si=009LFo6bbfKiwniw

[Otto Harkaman]

A group of bipartisan House lawmakers are introducing legislation to redesignate Turkey (https://www.foxnews.com/category/world/world-regions/turkey) as a Near Eastern country at the State Department, rather than a European country, as Ankara has moved away from the U.S. and NATO allies.

"An honest evaluation of the U.S .foreign policy bureaucracy reveals that we have unwittingly granted Turkey a "lobby" within multiple State Department bureaus, the size of which is wholly undeserved by a country that has, at best, become "neither friend nor foe,"

The group of lawmakers, led by Reps. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., introduced the Turkey Diplomatic Realignment Act, which looks to formally move Turkey’s designation at the U.S. State Department from the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs to the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, reflecting Ankara’s deepening ties with Russia, China, Iran, and Hamas, which are fundamentally at odds with Western security interests.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/bipartisan-legislation-seeks-reign-in-erdogans-turkey-over-ties-to-us-foes

[Aktungbby]

Thats something that i always find hypocritical. When Turkey has military power to get a edge towards the Soviet Union (what benefits NATO)
Everyone agrees what Turkey is doing.

But when Turkey suddenly starts expanding there influence in what Turkey sees as a benefit for themselves (they also have right to do it)
The world starts to complain haha.
i'm not Turkish :) But people need to understand that the world doesn't only apply to the NATO. Other countries also have the right to get their interests.

Turkey foreign policy has not changed much since WW1, it always waits to pick the winner that serves their interest the best in WW1 they picked the wrong side in WW2 they decided to join the allies only after Rommel lost in Africa had Rommel won the battle of El-Alamein Turkey would have joined the Axis. It will always be oscillating between the power blocs. Turkey holds a key geo-political position on the south flank of the former Stalinist buffer-state empire that wouldbe Czar, Vladimir the Grate,https://i.pinimg.com/236x/5b/33/7f/5b337f8f37a523ca62edae0434eb9df1.jpg is trying to restore.:yep: It controls the Bosphorus Strait and prevents Russian warships from exiting the the Black Sea, which, in conjunction with the recent collapse of ally Assad's Syria, is a serious strategic chokehold on Putin's WWIII seafaring aspirations in the Mediterranean/African theatre and beyond...The US should restore the nuclear weapons it removed from Turkey to resolve the 1960's Cuban missile crisis under JFK, giving our NATO ally back its serious deterrent clout.

[Otto Harkaman]

https://youtu.be/zNSmmOgtim8?si=gcNiic-1jgE4dWFd

https://youtu.be/DX1XG8BvuhI?si=jkqBTkL-H-y8EUGw

[Otto Harkaman]

https://youtu.be/hUEX30EBbC0?si=kQyEwaDxAnLUYhK6

https://youtu.be/LF4_JWo4cVg?si=Homnc_qXcEUpQSRX

https://youtu.be/sOSSIhYHoBk?si=fN2IM_xGiHecvQIg

[Otto Harkaman]

https://youtu.be/gkDRJOnVgSg?si=GqVZYEGzPmnydloy

[Jimbuna]

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses opposition politicians in Turkey of "disturbing the peace of our citizens with provocations" after a week of protests

"I believe that if [the opposition] has any respect left, they will be ashamed of the evil they have done to the country," he says

Unrest began on Wednesday when Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu - an opponent of Erdogan - was detained on corruption charges

Imamoglu spent the night in jail on Sunday and says the charges are politically motivated, something Erdogan denies

Fresh crowds have now gathered in Istanbul for a sixth consecutive day of protests - watch live at the top of this page

Earlier, the Turkish government said 1,133 people had been arrested since the protests started

Turkey's presidential election is not scheduled until 2028 - Imamoglu was confirmed today as the Republican People's Party (CPH)'s candidate, after a symbolic primary vote

[Eichhörnchen]

Well of course he'll "win" if he forcibly removes his only real opponent. Has the whole world gone bloody mad now? We seem to be rushing headlong back to the Dark Ages

[Aktungbby]

...probably but there's gonna be a whole lotta light first??!

[Catfish]

Indeed it seems like a falling back to the middle ages and its autocrats everywhere, but the coming... enlightenment will be nuclear.

[Otto Harkaman]

https://youtu.be/7Zp_Keh6TUQ?si=7G_PTLbFuukzXpXx
Who is jailed Turkish opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu?
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/24/who-is-jailed-turkish-opposition-leader-ekrem-imamoglu
https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/INTERACTIVE-Profile-Istanbul-Major-Turkey-Turkiye-Who-is-Ekrem-Imamoglu-1742814661.png

[Skybird]

Indeed it seems like a falling back to the middle ages and its autocrats everywhere, but the coming... enlightenment will be nuclear.
No, not necessarily, but it will be digital. So bright that everybody is totally transparent.

[Jimbuna]

Indeed it seems like a falling back to the middle ages and its autocrats everywhere, but the coming... enlightenment will be nuclear.

Quite possibly :yep:

[Eichhörnchen]

Another dictator spreads his wings. I've been asking lately - is the world going mad? All these despots in the ascendent, their people seemingly helpless to choose change because of a totalitarian boot on their necks. We've heard the Turkish opposition decrying the lack of a sympathetic response from the British Government - and now their inaction/appeasement bears its inevitable fruit: the BBC's Mark Lowen has been arrested and deported. It's almost beyond belief - but with the way the world id going now anything's possible

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/statements/detention-and-deportation-of-mark-lowen

[Aktungbby]

...their inaction/appeasement bears its inevitable fruit: the BBC's Mark Lowen has been arrested and deported. It's almost beyond belief - but with the way the world id going now anything's possible

...obviously fer 'talkin' turkey" on Turkey:O: which got Erdogan "all in a flap"https://media1.tenor.com/m/nmDgIyCaX0IAAAAd/fat-walking-turkey.gif over threat to public order issues...ie violating rule#1 of any dicktatorship: Evryone will think the way El Supremo thinks or else: :/\\chop:huh::|\\:dead:

[Jimbuna]

Turkeys only real value other than being a popular holiday destination is the fact it is a NATO member with a land border with Russia.

*ducks incoming*

[Dargo]

After Ramadan Türkiye will be lit opposition is now on low because of Ramadan after this they will gear up.

[Catfish]

Turkeys only real value other than being a popular holiday destination is the fact it is a NATO member with a land border with Russia.
*ducks incoming*
Of course. Otherwise this is why i wonder how anyone could possibly spend holidays in Turkey.
Or in the US.

[Otto Harkaman]

Moderate and charismatic, the mayor of Istanbul embodies for many Turks the hope of a political watershed after 22 years of AKP rule.

To keep up the pressure on Turkey’s government, the opposition is calling for other forms of protest, such as calls for strikes or boycotts of pro-Erdogan media or businesses reputed to be close to the government. Opposition leader Ozgur Ozel told a crowd gathered at Istanbul’s City Hall on Tuesday that the crackdown would only strengthen the protest movement. Caught up in the crackdown was Elon Musk’s X, with the social media platform announcing Wednesday it would challenge in Turkey’s highest court a government order to block over 100 user accounts critical of Erdogan’s regime.

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20250327-with-his-main-rival-in-jail-erdogan-turns-turkey-into-an-assumed-autocracy

[Dargo]

Eid Saeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YilJTrd_9B8

[Catfish]

What's up with Turkey?
They are sick and tired of an autocrate ruinining their country and destroying all secularisation and social reforms of decades. And it seems they have the guts.
I wish them well.

[Eichhörnchen]

Only thing is - Turkey has, although sometimes difficult, been a counterbalance to the Russkies. We can only hope that the new President (if there be one) gets a strong enough handle on things and wishes to be our friend

Edit:- Wouldn't it be something if they finally got their freedom on Thanksgiving Day? A long time until November though

[Jimbuna]

What's up with Turkey?
They are sick and tired of an autocrate ruinining their country and destroying all secularisation and social reforms of decades. And it seems they have the guts.
I wish them well.

Agreed :yep: